Ascension
by Vitocalme
Summary: An incident on a remote island off the coast of Japan heralds a turning point in the war against the Kaiju. Standing against this new threat, alongside the continued invasion of monsters through the Breach, can the Pan-Pacific Defense Corps defend the Earth? Or will the order of Nature be restored.
1. Prologue: Under The Hunters Moon

In the very darkest deep of the ocean, there was a small pinprick of light. A small pod of plankton swam up to it, curious. The light twitched, and the plankton followed. It bobbed and the plankton bobbed with it. It pulled back, and back, and the plankton-

-were swallowed up by the net-like mouth of a gulper eel.

The gulper eel was a typical deep-sea predator, three feet long, with a bio luminescent tip at the end of its tail. The eel was not an especially skilled swimmer and relied on that light to attract its latest meal. It was a competent predator, but at the end of the day it was a small light for a small fish, and it functioned best alone in the darkness.

So the eel became a bit alarmed when the sea began to brighten up considerably.

It was an indistinct blue haze, a long trail like a glowing snake. As it approached, the glow became more distinct, separating itself into regular shapes. But this wasn't a pod or a swarm—it was the running lights of a singular creature. The shapes grew into spiky formations, a moving, glowing mountain range. The eel scuttled away, its candlelight of a tail irrelevant against this sun. Not that the creature would have paid it much thought. The eel was a typical non-entity for this three hundred foot long predator. The glowing plates sliced past hammerhead sharks, giant squid, and humpback whales as it made for the surface.

It was hungry for bigger prey.

With a thunderous crash the once calm and serene surface of the ocean shattered. Drops of salt water glistened in the silver light of the full moon as gravity quickly pulled them back down.

Gigantic steel arms swayed in time with titanic legs, as the massive crimson and gold torso purposefully carved it's way through the sea. On the left shoulder blade of the metallic giant, painted in a bright gold, were the words Wyrm Ravager. That was the machine's name, a Mark II Jaeger built to defend the Earth from an invasion of otherworldly monstrosities.

There was a portal across time and space, known as the Breach, deep down in the Pacific Ocean that allowed monsters commonly known as Kaiju to invade Planet Earth. All forms of attack on the portal itself had proven ineffectual, so humanity had opted instead to destroy the invaders before they had the chance to make landfall.

That was where the Pan Pacific Defence Corps came in. An organisation forged in the fires of war, with every nation of the world contributing in some way shape or form. It was almost inspiring how in the face of certain doom, humanity could throw aside it's petty squabbles and stand together against an anything but common foe.

The biggest weapon, both literally and metaphorically speaking, in the PPDC's arsenal was the Jaeger. A gigantic machine piloted by two humans linked together via a neural bridge. It required perfect synchronisation and cooperation, even the tiniest hiccup could have disastrous consequences.

The colossal metal hunter surveyed the still ocean around it, searching for any sign of it's prey. At three AM local time, a Category II Kaiju had been spotted exiting the Breach and making it's way towards the island nation of Japan.

Within minutes, the Shatterdome in Tokyo had mobilised and within the hour, the Wyrm Ravager had been launched. The crew and the pilots had done this same procedure at least a dozen times before, it had become routine.

There was one thing slightly unique about this mission though, instead of making a beeline straight for a coastal city, this Kaiju had instead elected, for whatever reason, to swim towards a small island just off the Japanese coast.

But this little fact didn't really concern the pilots of the Wyrm, it just made it easier to keep the Kaiju outside of the Miracle Mile, so called because if a Kaiju entered it, it was a miracle for the Jaeger to intercept it before it made landfall.

The massive lights on the Wyrm pierced through the darkness as the gigantic frame turned in every direction. The island was in view, and less than a mile away from it's current position and there'd still be no sign of the Kaiju. A fact which was somewhat troubling as the beasts were not well known for their subtle tactics.

Finally the machine came to a halt as it's pilots stared intently at their instruments. So focused on the screens dotted around the Conn-Pod, they almost failed to notice the bright flash of blue in the water behind them.

The Jaeger turned around just in time to see the water erupt violently as a mass of, shining azure flesh smashed into the machine. The Wyrm staggered backwards as it tried to hold back the wildly thrashing creature.

Gigantic Jaws snapped viciously at the Jaeger's head, but try as it might, the beast could not overpower the Wyrm. The boosters on the back of the Jaeger ignited and with an almighty shove, it threw it's attacker off.

The Kaiju hit the water, sending waves rippling outwards all around it, as the creature rolled onto it's small, insect like legs. Wyrm Raveger stared down it's foe, a large rotund creature with three pairs of burning white eyes and a bright blue, luminescent body, with a pair of large black fins flapping angrily behind it, all the while a scorpion-like tail swayed too and fro, in a menacing, serpentine dance.

The Kaiju codenamed Shinomura hissed at it's mechanical foe and reared up on it's hind legs, before suddenly charging forth, screeching like a banshee. This time however, the mech was ready for Shinomura's attack and began to move accordingly.

With a satisfyingly loud sound, Wyrm Ravagers right fist smashed into the Kaiju's face. Shinomura let out a shriek filled with surprise and pain as it struggled to stay on it's misshapen legs. However the Jaeger took no pity as another fist slammed into the Kaiju, knocking it over again.

The machine loomed overhead, preparing to deliver another blow, but the beast was too fast. Rolling back onto it's legs at an almost impossible speed for its size, Shinomura leapt at Wyrm Ravager again, wrapping it's legs around the Jaeger's torso and biting into the machine's neck.

Had it been a living creature, the Kaiju would have ripped into Wyrm's jugular, thankfully however, it had missed a lot of the vital circuits and joints in the initial bite.

The Jaeger and Kaiju violently grappled, Wyrm Ravager let lose punch after punch into Shinomura's abdomen, and the creature responded by lashing out violently with it's prehensile tail. Pitch black wings beat against the night sky as the titans wrestled amidst the restless ocean. One of the the strikes from Shinomura's tail came dangerously close to piercing the Conn-Pod and revealing the pilots trapped within.

The Kaiju let go of the mechanical neck and reared back, preparing to strike again. Taking the opening, Wyrm Ravager thrust it's left hand up towards Shinomura's face. A panel within the machine's palm slid open, as a long, thin tube quickly slid into place just in front of one set eyes.

With a brilliant flash, a bright blue flame ignited and carved it's way through one of Shinomura's piercing white eyes. The Kaiju let out an unearthly scream as it let go of Wyrm Ravager's torso and fell back into the water.

It howled and gurgled as it's luminescent flesh burned and sizzled, as it's eerily blue blood leaked into the sea water.

The Wyrm recovered and steadied itself, it's flare cutter still burning brightly against the night sky. It was damaged, but still functional enough to kill the Kaiju and return back to the Shatterdome before sunrise, and so it prepared for the next round.

Five white eyes glared hatefully at the machine, as equal parts laboured breathing and enraged snarls, drowned out the sounds of the waves crashing. Shinomura pawed at the sea floor and lowered it's head, ready for it's final charge, it's fins flapping threateningly.

But the charge never came.

The water beside the Kaiju suddenly burst up, covering the creature in a cloud of sea spray, blocking it from Wyrm Ravager's view.

However while the pilots could no longer see the Kaiju, they could hear it, more specifically they could hear it's pain and panic filled shrieks and cries. A low, guttural growl overruled the Kaiju's dying screams, as a spray of luminescent blood burst from the cloud of water, landing on Wyrm Ravager's chest.

The machine took a combat ready pose, staring down the rapidly dwindling veil of spray as the Shinomura's cries grew weaker and weaker. With another primal growl, something long and thin burst out from the cloud and smashed into the unsuspecting Jaeger.

With a heavy thud the machine fell back into the water, the armour plating ground and bent as the internal machines sparked violently.

The Jaeger tried to climb back up to it's feet, but something heavy knocked it back down, something far, far heavier then the Jaeger itself.

Inside the Conn-Pod was a mess, the view screen was totally black, warning alarms blared loudly as the computer failed to keep up with the ever increasing list of faults and malfunctions to the Jaeger's systems.

Stricken with panic, the machine lashed out at it's attacker, however the punches seemed ineffectual. With a last burst of effort, the Wyrm reactivated it's cutter in the left arm and forced the flame into the attacker as hard as it's dwindling power systems would allow.

A deep, booming roar echoed throughout the Conn-Pod and the night sky, as finally something began to show up on the main monitor.

A tiny ember of blue light appeared in the darkness of the view screen. At first it seemed soft, almost gentle, but quickly the light began to grow larger and larger, till it became an azure inferno that blinded the pilots inside.

And then, just as the light became too bright to look at any more, there came another growl, and finally there was a microsecond of searing pain, and then nothing.


	2. Chapter 1: Just Another Day

Ishiro Serizawa was sick of helicopters in every sense of the word.

For the past five years of his life, he'd been crammed into them and shipped across the entire planet. Every time a Kaiju had been felled, he'd been sent to oversee the PPDC's attempts to study the remains.

He sighed as he tried to ignore the growing nausea in his stomach, this was the price he paid for being the world's foremost expert on Kaiju.

"Not like it means much" he thought to himself sourly as the helicopter juddered from the turbulence. The war had begun to take it's toll on Serizawa, and while it had only been five years since the Kaiju known as Trespasser first made landfall in San Francisco, he felt as if he'd aged decades.

He could still remember the feelings of fear and wonderment that gripped his body as he dissected the salvaged remains of the first ever Kaiju. Humanity had cried out for help and he'd jumped at the call.

Almost single handedly, Serizawa had designed the various instruments used to detect and monitor Kaiju, so great was his influence, the PPDC had erroneously decided to judge Kaiju based on the so called Serizawa Scale.

But as the years went on and more and more Kaiju corpses were sliced and diced, Ishiro was finding himself stuck in a rut and hitting a metaphorical brick wall.

The Kaiju's bodies decomposed at a frightening rate, it was almost like a built in defence mechanism whereupon the ceasing of higher brain functions, the cells automatically began to break themselves down. A process which made it very difficult to harvest remains, especially the important organs like the brain.

He knew that there was probably much more to learn about these alien creatures, but truth be told he'd not had anything close to a breakthrough in at least two years. Honestly he couldn't help but think that the PPDC made him fly out in the least comfortable helicopters they had as a form of punishment for his lack of progress.

Finally though, the hellish flight came to an end, as they slowly descended towards the waiting aircraft carrier. With a final jolt, the helicopter came to a stop, and Serizawa made for the door.

Quickly stepping out and ignoring the still whirring rotor blades above him, the doctor made his way purposefully to the bridge of the ship. He'd been given a vague briefing before being locked inside that infernal machine, but he wanted to get the full details from the recovery team before he set to work. Just because he was tired of his job, did not mean he would do it poorly.

He'd done this so many times now, he could find his way to the bridge of a ship with his eyes closed, he barely even thought about where he was going as the sounds of his foot steps echoed throughout the narrow stairwell he ascended.

With a heavy clunk the large metal door opened and Serizawa stepped inside the bridge. He very briefly looked around the large, monitor filled room, but immediately his attention was drawn to the tall, skinny man, with the dull grey hair standing before him.

"Doctor Serizawa I presume" the man said, his commanding tone suited his US Navy uniform perfectly as his piercing gaze observed Serizawa.

"And you must be Admiral Stenz" Ishiro replied, holding his hand out, waiting for the Admiral to shake it.

Stenz however ignored the gesture and carried on "At around four hundred hours we lost contact with the Mark II Jaeger Wyrm Ravager, just off the Japanese Coast" he stated matter of factly.

Serizawa pursed his lips, he had seen Stenz's type before, all business, he was a soldier first and a human second, in a way Serizawa respected that level of dedication. "At which point you were called in to investigate the Jaeger's last known co-ordinates, and found both Jaeger and Kaiju destroyed, correct?" Serizawa responded simply, Stenz wasn't here to make friends, and quite frankly neither was he.

"Indeed" Stenz said as he eyed Serizawa up again "We found the remains of both combatants less than a mile away from a small landmass called Odo Island" Stenz continued.

Serizawa stiffened at the name Odo, there was something about that island that seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place it.

Of course, Stenz noticed this change "Is there a problem doctor?" he asked without the slightest hint of concern.

"Not at all" Serizawa said, composing himself "Please continue".

Stenz looked at him again, before speaking once more "It seems very clear cut to me, both Jaeger and Kaiju inflicted mortal wounds to one another, but apparently the PPDC wants you to take a look at the battlefield before we begin clean up operations" The Admiral said, with the slightest twinge of disdain in his voice.

Serizawa couldn't blame him really, being forced to play the role of a glorified taxi cab for one scientist was not something an Admiral should be proud of. And it wasn't as if Serizawa himself wanted to be here, all the PPDC were after was a report signed by Serizawa and some more samples of Kaiju tissue, really he wasn't sure why he was needed to hold the recovery crews' hands, but it wasn't his place to question the higher ups.

The doctor straightened his tie "Nevertheless" he finally said "I should still probably take a look at the carcass" he wanted to finish this job quickly and painlessly, a sentiment he knew Stenz shared.

The Admiral nodded "Very well; there's a tug being prepared to take you to the island now, it should be ready to depart within a few minutes" the sea man said as he took his eyes off of Serizawa, and stared at a monitor.

Serizawa turned back towards the door and prepared to leave the bridge, when suddenly the Admiral spoke again "Before I forget, the recovery team advised the use of a hazard suit, apparently there are above average levels of radiation in the area".

Ishiro offhandedly acknowledged the Admiral's message, and casually shut the door as he made his way back down that cold, lonesome staircase.

The small vessel rolled this way and that as it slowly carved it's way through the Japanese waters.

Here he was, trapped inside an excruciatingly hot and uncomfortable a radiation suit. The fresh sea breeze felt like it was an eternity away from him. He actually missed those cursed helicopters.

He took in a gulp of sterile air as he tried to focus on something besides the nauseating swaying of the boat. As his mind raced through a list of possible topics, that same niggling sense of nostalgia once more sat annoyingly on the outskirts of his thoughts.

There was something about Odo island, some small, most likely irrelevant piece of information that he knew, and yet it eluded him. It was a maddening sensation, like being unable to recall a word he'd used frequently before.

Sickness rapidly gave way to frustration as Serizawa became lost in his train of thought. So engrossed was he, that when he felt the hand on his shoulder, he couldn't help but jerk in surprise.

"Doctor Serizawa" a soldier dressed in a suit much like Serizawa's said, his voice sounding distant and crackly thanks to the in-built microphone "We've arrived".

Serizawa sighed and nodded, as the soldier departed the small cabin and went out onto the main deck of the ship. With a sharp intake of stifled air, Serizawa mentally shook away the cobwebs from his mind, he could figure it out later, right now he had a job to do. And with that, he too took his leave.

The morning sun hung high in the cloudless, blue sky. For all intents and purposes it was what most people would call the perfect day.

However, Serizawa was not most people, and right now he was silently cursing the sunlight. Not only was the heat making what was already an uncomfortable experience much worse, it would also speed up the Kaiju's rate of decomposition.

"_I had better move quickly_" he thought to himself as he stared at the half submerged mountain of decaying flesh in the distance. "Bring us in closer" he said into the suits microphone as the tugs engines roared to life once more.

As the small boat moved towards the deceased destroyer, Serizawa took note of the veritable army of similarly suited technicians and workers, all stationed upon other similarly sized vehicles, waiting for the go ahead to begin work.

He trained his sights back on the remains before him. A titanic mass of rotting flesh, dyed a sickly green and blue colour. It was a staggering thought, looking at something so massive, so alien and realising that a few hours ago, it was walking around like a creature of planet Earth.

Finally the tug came to a halt, nestling itself right beside the Kaiju remains, so close that Serizawa could reach out and touch the otherworldly carcass. Several of the other boats closed in, coming to a stop beside Serizawa's vessel as the recovery team readied their various tools.

Serizawa ignored them though, as he reached into a rather large chest and removed what looked like the love child of a drill and a syringe. In actuality that's what it was, a Kaiju's hide was extremely resilient to most conventional tools, luckily though, the process that caused the rapid decomposition, also made the flesh much softer and weaker.

With a high pitched whirring sound, the device came alive as Serizawa's expertly steady hands brought it towards the wall of flesh and muscle before him. With a swift jab he impaled the corpse with the tool as it began the arduous task of boring through the top layers of skin.

Kaiju blood was toxic, everyone knew this, it had a detrimental effect on the environment and had as of yet unconfirmed effects on the human body. What a lot of people didn't know was that the toxicity varied from Kaiju to Kaiju, blood toxicity level was one of the many criteria that decreed what category a Kaiju was according to the Serizawa scale.

Because of this discrepancy between Kaiju, it was vitally important to collect samples from each and every one of these monsters in the hope of one day being able to synthesize a compound to counteract the poisonous plasma.

With a sickening squelch, Serizawa hit the proverbial gold mine. Disgustingly bright blue liquid began to fill up the large glass cylinder embedded in the back of the machine. Within seconds the tank was full, and Serizawa pulled the device free from the Kaiju's remains, switching off the drill and carefully removing the cylinder.

Placing the blood sample back in the box, Serizawa moved on to his next task, a skin sample. Of course with the Kaiju breaking down in the way that it was, it meant that the outer layer of skin wouldn't suffice for a decent sample, Serizawa had to go deeper.

And with that, he gripped the moderately sized chainsaw inside the tool box, and got to work.

This took much longer then extracting the blood sample had, mainly because of just how many layers he had to cut through to get towards a salvageable piece of flesh, which was not an easy task, considering the deeper he cut, the stronger the resistance from the Kaiju's body.

Serizawa straining to cut through the Kaiju certainly was not helping him feel comfortable inside the suit, and having to constantly stop to wipe away the blood from his helmet was a major annoyance to boot.

Another scientist would have left these tasks up to the recovery team, but Serizawa had found over the years that collecting samples himself saved a substantial amount of time, he knew exactly what he was looking for and what he needed, and unfortunately others did not.

With a final grunt and burst of energy, Serizawa cut away the rather sizeable chunk of flesh, and dumped it into a nearby container. He needed more samples, but he wouldn't be able to collect those from his current position not to mention he'd never be able to work on any of the beasts organs alone. So content that he'd justified the trip out here, Serizawa motioned to his comrades, who all immediately jumped into action.

An army of hazard suit wearing workers moved in, systematically tearing at the Kaiju, trying to cut their way into the belly of the beast in order to acquire the rare and valuable pieces. Serizawa meanwhile, carefully packed away his tools and separated the samples into another container.

He was glad to be done, now all he had to do was go back to the carrier, and suffer another uncomfortable ride in a helicopter back to the Tokyo Shatterdome, where he could go over the samples. He honestly didn't expect to find anything interesting though, this was the same old routine he'd performed countless times before.

Slowly and carefully, the tug began to move away from the corpse and the recovery team, preparing to begin the journey back, much to the delight of it's passenger. Serizawa looked back at the carcass, he was still feeling that nostalgic sensation in the back of his head, he felt so close and yet so far, like he was staring the obvious in the face.

Suddenly something triggered in his head as he continued to stare at the Kaiju, more specifically what remained of it's throat.

"Change of plans" he said through the radio to the bridge, never taking his eyes off of his target "Bring us towards the creature's neck"

The captain didn't question Serizawa's sudden change of heart, and brought the boat back towards the dead creature. Thankfully the neck was devoid of the recovery team crawling over it, there was nothing of interest or value there usually. Truth be told, Serizawa wasn't sure what he'd seen was all that unique, but he felt compelled to check nevertheless.

As the ship reached it's destination, once more pulling up close enough for the doctor to touch the corpse. Serizawa however didn't need to touch anything this time, his eyes told him everything he needed to know.

The Kaiju had received several wounds to the neck region, which in of itself wasn't all that unusual, the neck was a universal weak point, it made perfect sense to aim for it. What was strange though, was the nature of the marks.

Now granted, considering the self destructive nature of Kaiju corpses, Serizawa could not be one hundred percent sure, but the wounds didn't seem like something that a Jaeger would inflict. The way the flesh was cut seemed far too messy. If it had been sliced with a blade, it wouldn't look so jagged and torn, more then that, judging from the oval shape of the wound, if Serizawa didn't know any better, he'd have said it was a bite mark.

The doctor stared at the fatal injury for a solid five minutes, as his mind tried to piece together a series of events that could lead to such a wound. He had a few theories, maybe the Jaeger was outfitted with some kind of jagged blade that ripped rather then cut, or maybe it had been a regular cut to the throat, and the decomposition had coincidentally caused it to look like a bite.

Serizawa however wasn't convinced by any of that.

"Take me to the Jaeger's wreck" he said sharply to the captain.

"But you're not an engineer sir" came the uncertain response.

"Just do it" Serizawa snapped back, he wasn't normally this aggressive, but he felt like the machine's remains would contain another piece to this puzzle. The captain didn't say anything else as the boat carefully pulled away from one corpse, and swiftly made it's way to another.

The tug pulled up next to the Jaeger's partially submerged leg, the bow of the ship just being level with the top of the mech's calf, a fact that Serizawa was thankful for, as he climbed overboard, and stepped onto the leg.

He looked up towards the torso of the Jaeger, there were a few engineer's talking amongst themselves. It would be a long, somewhat dangerous walk to reach them, but Serizawa went on anyway.

The middle aged scientist stumbled a few times, as he carefully moved his way up the leg and past the mechanical hips, finally reaching the torso, and the engineers.

One of them took notice, and immediately went to confront him "Excuse me sir, this area is dangerous" he said through the microphone of his suit.

"What can you tell me about this Jaeger?" Serizawa said simply, ignoring the engineers warning.

"Just who the hell do you think you are?" came the rather cutting response.

"My name is Doctor Ishiro Serizawa and I need to know about the capabilities of this machine for my research" Serizawa snapped in his most commanding tone. It worked, the engineer had clearly heard of him and was a little flustered at the sudden confrontation.

"Oh, sorry sir" he said nervously "What do you need to know about the Wyrm exactly?".

"What kind of armaments was she fitted with?" Serizawa asked, relaxing his voice somewhat, no longer needing to butt heads with the engineer.

"Well she wasn't the most heavily armed of the Jaegers out there, she was built for speed and precision instead of beating down the enemy" he explained "But she did have a Plasma Cutter built into her left arm that on a good day should reach around twenty eight thousand degrees Celsius"

Serizawa stood in silence for a second till finally he spoke "So she wasn't fitted with any bladed weaponry?" he asked.

"Nope, as you can imagine, every single nut and bolt in a Jaeger is accounted for, if she had anything like that, we'd know about it".

Serizawa went silent again, this was certainly troubling, the wound on the Kaiju's neck most assuredly had not been burned, that much he could be sure of. But if it wasn't the Jaeger, what were his options? Another kaiju? They'd never seen two simultaneously before-was it possible they preyed on one another, or fought for territory?

"So you're having trouble with the Kaiju huh?" the engineer said, trying to make small talk "Yeah we've got some weird stuff over here too".

Serizawa perked up at this "What do you mean?" he asked.

The engineer began to talk up the torso, towards the chest, motioning for Serizawa to follow. As he did, he couldn't help but notice the Jaegers paint, or rather lack thereof.

He'd vaguely been aware of the red and gold coloured metal as he'd clambered over it, but for some reason, the torso was this strange black colour, almost as if the metal had been burnt.

"So when we first got here, the entire Jaeger was coated in radiation, which is understandable, these things run on nuclear reactors, so when they go down, there's always a risk the core will start leaking, or worse case scenario go into meltdown.

Serizawa began to panic at the mention of a meltdown "Is that what happened?" he said, concerned about the radiation and the hazard suits limited protective capabilities.

"Well that's where things get strange" the engineer said, finally coming to a stop, beside a gigantic hole in the Jaeger's chest.

The engineer motioned for Serizawa to join him, and the two gazed into the chasm "You see down there is what's left of the core, I don't know how much you know about these kinds of reactors, but I'm sure you can tell, this thing is beyond repair".

Serizawa nodded as he looked at the twisted and singed steel deep inside the Jaegers chest.

"So anyway, when we got here, we soon found out the casing had been cracked wide open, which isn't good to put it mildly, a cracked case generally means radioactive material flooding the immediate area"

Serizawa turned to him with a look of confusion, a breach such as that should have left the machine totally irradiated and unsafe for anyone to be near, let alone standing atop it.

"I know what you're thinking, 'If the casing's been cracked, why are we hanging around?' Well that's the weird thing, the core's empty".

Serizawa didn't think it was possible, but now he was even more confused "What do you mean empty?" he asked.

"The uranium and cooling mechanisms are simply not there. I dunno, it's like something sucked them dry" he said with a shrug.

"And there's no residual radiation? No fallout?" the doctor asked, not quite believing what he was being told.

"Damndest thing huh?" the engineer responded, clearly just as confused as he was.

Serizawa looked down into the heart of the machine once again, this was a lot to take in, instead of answers all he'd discovered were more questions.

"So now I've got a question for you, did your Kaiju over there secrete some kind of accelerant or something?" the engineer asked.

"I don't think so, I certainly didn't see any evidence of that while I was collecting samples." Serizawa responded, his mind still trying to piece together everything.

"Ah okay" the engineer said, slightly disheartened "We're just trying to figure out what generated enough heat to warp the Jaeger's armour plating, at first we thought there'd been a meltdown in the core, but the strange thing is, it's just the outside of the Jaeger that's burned, the inside is mostly untouched".

Serizawa was silent again "Thank you for your time, it has been most helpful" he said politely as he gave a respectful bow "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be on my way" and with that, he began the long walk back to the tug.

With a slight effort, Serizawa clambered back onto the deck of the boat, and gave the order to return to the carrier.

As the small ship powered it's way through the water, Serizawa removed the helmet of his suit, thankful to finally be taking in a breath of fresh air after what felt like an eternity.

He turned back towards the scene, the Kaiju, Jaeger and Odo Island gradually getting further and further away. Serizawa stared intently, trying to fit together the puzzle inside his mind, and once more, being bothered by the nostalgic feeling.

The second Kaiju theory wasn't without it's flaws, the PPDC would have spotted it leaving the Breach. And so far every single Kaiju had directly travelled towards a coastal city without fail. Surely by now it would have made landfall somewhere and started to attack.

So that left him with the other side of the coin, a rogue Jaeger. But that made even less sense, what could someone possibly gain from attacking a Jaeger? The world was sharing it's resources and wealth, and even if there was a rogue Jaeger, that would be even harder to hide then a second Kaiju.

Serizawa's mind raced through possibilities, but nothing felt right. None of the answers he'd come up with so far answered any of the questions, or appeased this irritating feeling in the back of his head.

Just what was so damn important about Odo Island that his mind felt compelled to keep falling back on it?!

And then suddenly it clicked, all the pieces lined up perfectly, and he remembered that useless, seemingly irrelevant piece of information he'd previously forgotten.

His grandfather, Haruho Serizawa had once told him a story about Odo Island. Long ago it had been a peaceful fishing village that enjoyed prosperity and good fortune all year round.

But one day, a great beast settled in the waters around the island, and mercilessly terrorised the village. The people were terrified, and knew not what they could do to quell it's rage.

Eventually the people of the village fled their home, and took the perilous journey to mainland Japan, where only a few of the villagers made it there alive.

The villagers never spoke of what exactly the creature was, all they would do is repeat it's name in fear over and over.

"Gojira".


	3. Chapter 2: A Meeting of Minds

"Tick, tock, tick, tock".

The maddeningly repetitive sounds of that infernal clock mounted upon the wall was driving Serizawa insane.

He grit his teeth and tried his best to ignore it, as he leaned back into the uncomfortable chair. The clock was one of the many reasons he hated coming here.

The doctor's eyes drifted up and and down the barren wasteland that was the corridor. No decorations, no paintings or plants, it was so empty and soul destroying. But then again, he supposed that fit the general personality of council members.

The PPDC was governed by politicians, selected representatives from each of the participating nations. Serizawa didn't particularly like any of them, however his relationship with the councilman from Japan was especially strained. And of course, that was who he'd been called to see.

It was hard to believe it had only been three days since he'd first investigated the Kaiju corpse off the coast of Odo Island. Since that fateful day, Serizawa's mind had become a tempest of thoughts and ideas, all as he tried to solve the puzzle that was the third entity.

And it was because of this mental maelstrom of his that he'd been ordered to stand before the council. Or at least that was what he expected, he knew that there would be an upset when he submitted his findings, however he figured it would be at least a week before he was called here.

He'd written the report in such a way that Serizawa had hoped it would have been ignored. The doctor had carefully gone through all the specifics about the Kaiju corpse, and the samples he'd collected on that day, his intention being to bore any council member who happened to read it.

At around the middle section of the document, the part most likely to be skipped over, he included his theory about the third party. Serizawa had even gone far enough to call it Gorjia in reference to the legend of Odo island. Finishing off the write up with the usual flair about the samples hopefully leading to future discoveries about the monsters from beyond the rift.

Serizawa thought he'd done a good job hiding the controversial information. if there was one thing you could count on the higher ups in the PPDC to do, it was to skim a report. Alas though, it appeared as if once again the PPDC had let down the doctor.

A loud crackling sound pierced through the silence suddenly, almost causing Serizawa to jump in surprise, as the intercom built into the wall flared to life.

"The councilman will see you now" came a robotic, yet feminine voice, echoing out through the once silent corridor.

Serizawa sighed as he unwillingly stood up, and shuffled towards the plain, oak coloured door. For a moment, he was still as he stared at the entryway before him, debating if he could simply just turn around and leave.

However, he knew if he did that, he'd be called back in and reprimanded, and still have to meet with the Japanese representative.

And so, with a sense of being damned no matter what route he took, Serizawa decided it was better to walk through his own personal hell now rather than later. And with that, the good doctor opened the door and stepped inside.

The musty smell of the dark office immediately assaulted Serizawa's nostrils. All those hours spent in sterilised environments had desensitised him somewhat.

His eyes adjusted to the low light as he scanned the room intently. Empty was the word that he'd use to describe it. Not as in literally though, the walls were lined with bookcases, that were filled to the brim with leather bound tomes. Yet that didn't change the atmosphere, there was nothing warm or inviting or quaint about them. Everything in the room felt cold and impersonal, as if every piece of furniture was there simply for the sake of being there.

Near the back of the surprisingly spacious office, was a large oak-coloured desk. Stacks of paper littered the surface, in danger of spilling over to the floor if there was even so much as a gentle breeze.

A cough brought Serizawa's attention to the chair behind the desk. A singular brown eye stared at him intently "Sit down" the aged councilman said commandingly.

The doctor did so, pulling out a chair equally as uncomfortable as the one from before, and taking a seat. Serizawa stared at the man before him, faded dark grey hair with multiple creases and wrinkles adorning his weathered features, all the while, a black eye-patch covered what presumably, used to be his right eye.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Serizawa spoke.

"Hello father"

Daisuke Serizawa gave his son a scrutinising look, his face remaining cold and emotionless as he gathered his thoughts.

"I'm sure you know why you're here, Ishiro" the elder Serizawa said simply, as he opened a drawer, and produced a small stack of paper, bound in a thin wire "It seems as though there are a few errors with your recent submission".

"I'm not going to amend my report" The doctor said defiantly, reading his father's intentions.

The councilman gave a fierce glare "This is not a matter up for debate, your report was filled with irrelevant conjecture, based upon questionable evidence"

A rage began to build within Ishiro, but he did his best to hold it back "And I suppose you expect me to just write off the Odo Island incident? Pretend that nothing is strange about the whole ordeal?" He said, somewhat venomously.

"Of course not" Daisuke responded "I agree that the incident is troubling, and warrants further investigation".

For a moment, Ishiro's eyes brightened up, but his father continued to speak.

"However, that is not your job, nor is it your job to throw around wild, and baseless theories, citing children's stories of all things as a reference."

And just like that, the younger Serizawa's anger came back.

"I have been studying the Kaiju for years!" he snarled "I've seen countless corpses in varying degrees of decomposition, I know that the weaponry on the Wyrm Ravager would not have been able to inflict those kinds of injuries".

Daisuke however seemed unimpressed by his sons anger, instead he remained calm and leaned back into his chair.

"While I was working at Tokyo University in the seventies, there was a colleague of mine, a well respected marine biologist by the name of Shinzo Mafune" The elder said. "One day however, Dr. Mafune claimed to have discovered a new life form dwelling in the deepest parts of the Pacific."

At this, Ishiro once more, found his feelings dissipating as he listened intently.

"Mafune told the scientific community that this new species, was in fact a a gigantic amphibious dinosaur that had survived mass extinction by secreting itself away into the ocean depths." The elder Serizawa paused for a second, before continuing his tale. "As I'm sure you can imagine, nobody believed Mafune, he became a laughing stock, ridiculed by his friends and colleagues, called insane and driven to depression"

Ishiro nodded "So you think that Mafune's discovery is linked to the Odo Island incident?" he said in a voice full of hope.

Daisuke however, met this with a stern glare "No, I'm trying to warn you about the dangers of chasing fantasies. Mafune was my friend, but he became obsessed with this mythological creature of his, it ruined his life and his career for nothing."

Ishiro's heart felt heavy as his father's story began to reach it's conclusion. "Unfortunately Ishiro, you are not in a position to chase a fantasy, the world is reliant upon you and your research, it is in everyone's best interests if you do not stray from that path you walk".

Daisuke pushed the bound papers towards his son "I took the liberty of amending the report on your behalf, you should be thankful that I'm the only one who read the original version".

"Yes father" Ishiro said solemnly, not looking Daisuke in the eye as he stood up, and grabbed the documents.

With a sense of defeat, the doctor turned and walked towards the door, but not before hearing his father's final remarks

"The world is full of enough monsters, we do not need you making up any more".

And with that, Serizawa left the office, slamming the door behind him.

Daisuke watched the office entryway intently, until he was sure that his son had left. Letting out a low sigh, the old councilman relaxed ever so slightly as he rubbed his temples.

Unfortunately his relaxation was cut short, as an annoying, repetitive beeping suddenly filled the air.

Letting out a frustrated groan, Serizawa slowly turned his chair around to face the back wall, as what little light was in the office began to fade.

In a flash of blue, a holographic monitor appeared before him, as a figure came into view on the display.

"Marshal Pentecost" Daisuke said simply as he and the former Jaeger Pilot locked gazes.

"Councilman" the Marshal said respectfully.

Back in the early days of the war, Serizawa and Pentecost had worked closely together. Stacker Pentecost had been one of the first applicants for the Jaeger program and had been stationed in Japan to help pilot the Mark 1 Jaeger, designated as Coyote Tango up until his retirement from active duty. Now Pentecost was the military liaison to the Shatterdome in Anchorage, and with the increase in rank the two men had grown apart. Pentecost and the politicians agreed on little and less regarding the kaiju problem, and Pentecost didn't hesitate to say so.

"Marshal Pentecost, this is a surprise," Serizawa said, all smiles.

"Councilman," Pentecost said, with a slight nod of the head. Terse as ever.

"Anchorage must be treating you well for you to afford a call to an old friend. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Serizawa asked.

"The Tokyo Shatterdome reported an incident off the coast of Odo Island," Pentecost said, and Serizawa inwardly grimaced. So much for pleasant chitchat. "Apparently both Kaiju and Jaeger destroyed. The details, however, are elusive."

"I'm not sure what other details you are referring to," Serizawa said, sitting a little straighter in his chair, "but classifying the battle off of Odo Island as an 'incident' is a mistake. Wyrm Ravager and her crew were destroyed—this is a tragedy, not a curiosity."

"That's not going to stop people from being curious," Pentecost countered. "Especially not with the rumours that have come across my desk."

Serizawa's face remained carefully expressionless. "What rumours have you heard?"

"Kaiju and Jaegar destroyed by an unknown third party," Pentecost said bluntly. Serizawa made a mental note to look over the technicians' NDA guidelines the next time he had the chance. "I've got a responsibility to keep these men alive, and if we've got a rogue element a cover-up's not the answer. Now enough with the official line, Councilman, I need to know if there's foul play!"

It was a forceful roar, but with it Pentecost had cost himself the high ground. Abandoning regulation for emotion got you nowhere in the bureaucracy. Serizawa affected a chilly demeanor.

"Unfortunately Marshal, there is nothing more to say on the matter," Serizawa replied. "The incident at Odo Island reveals no tangible evidence of any 'rogue element.' Don't waste any more of my time with rumours from bored dockworkers, Marshal. Any fool can spin a story."

Stacker watched him through the monitor, and Serizawa saw the recognition of stalemate. "Yes," Pentecost said, watching him intently, "They can"

Serizawa nodded. "As I said, it's still under investigation. There will be a full report, an official report, of this unfortunate business soon enough, and hopefully that will quash these unfounded rumours."

"Very well, councilman," Pentecost said. "If there's any further information, I would be very interested to see it."

Serizawa nodded. "Of course, Marshal. Good day." and with that, the screen vanished, as the lights brightened once more.

Daisuke sat in his chair and contemplated this mess. He was sure that the Odo Island incident was being blown massively out of proportion. It had inspired the PPDC, his son included, to believe in foolish ghost stories.

It wasn't like he could blame Ishiro though, in the past, when the Kaiju had first attacked, Daisuke himself had wondered if his father's story had some grain of truth to it, but with the discovery of the Breach it became clear that these monsters were not born on Earth. Meaning the legend of Gojira was still just a legend.

He turned the chair around to face his desk, regardless, he had work to do now, and so Serizawa grabbed the closest stack of papers and began to work through the documentation.

"Anti-Kaiju Wall Project?" Serizawa read aloud somewhat disbelievingly as he began to thumb his way through the one hundred page proposition.

It was going to be a long day.


	4. Chapter 3: The Unbreakable Shield

Piercing brown eyes stared intently at the holographic display floating in the air.

Marshall Stacker Pentecost was silent for a moment as he read the info several times.

"As you can see sir, it's a Category IV" Came the somewhat shaking voice of Tendo Choi, chief LOCCENT officer for the Anchorage Shatterdome.

"The world's first" Pentecost mused as he looked at the statistics flashing on the screen. The height and weight values for the Kaiju were just rough estimates, they wouldn't get accurate readings till it made landfall. But the creature looked to be the biggest and heaviest Kaiju the PPDC had seen thus far.

"Just what you'd expect from a Category IV" Pentecost thought to himself.

"From it's current trajectory, it seems to be making it's way to Manila" Tendo explained as he worked furiously on his computer.

A feeling of dread welled up inside Pentecost's gut. He made damn sure not to express that on his face though, not for the sake of his own pride, but for the sake of his men's morale.

Pentecost inwardly sighed. It was protocol to report this to the council and await their decision, which he knew would be stupid and over reactive. However, as much as he hated the councillors and their ways he hated the Kaiju more, and would do anything to stop them.

Even if it meant playing nice with a bunch of contemptible wastes of oxygen.

* * *

Serizawa held on for dear life as the helicopter shook and juddered through it's descent. For once the good doctor couldn't really fault the uncomfortable ride, after all everyone was in a rush today.

About an hour ago he'd received a call from his father detailing the situation. A Category IV Kaiju, which up until this point had merely been a theoretical classification, had been detected exiting the breach by the Anchorage Shatterdome.

The council had urged for a massive call to arms, demanding multiple Jaeger's be deployed and a recovery team on standby to harvest the remains of the creature as soon as it was dead.

Serizawa risked a glance down at the Manila Shatterdome below. He could see an army of workers and technicians scrambling around, trying their best to get everything prepared.

Leaning back into his seat, Serizawa tried his best to forget about the shaking metal death trap he was in. He just knew in the pit of his stomach that today was going to be hell, at the very least he wasn't the one going out there to fight this monster.

* * *

Hercules Hansen stood still as the myriad of technicians went through the arduous process of fitting his Drivesuit.

This was the part he hated most about Kaiju attacks, the long winded preparation and the checks. Actually fighting the damn thing was easy, it was even somewhat relaxing in a twisted way.

"Come on old man, cheer up, should be an easy kill today" came the cocky voice of Herc's younger brother.

The former RAAF pilot turned his head and sent a playful glare "Don't call me that" he said half-seriously.

Scott Hansen was everything Herc wasn't; carefree, arrogant and totally irresponsible. Despite that though, Scott certainly knew how to fight, a trait that was sadly more valued these days then the honour and respect Herc held so dear.

Still though, they were family and Herc knew that despite his foolishness, Scott would never do anything that would compromise their mission.

"I can't believe we're being sent out to babysit a pair of rookies" Scott suddenly said, still waiting for the crew to finish equipping the Drivesuit.

Herc groaned inwardly, he'd been dreading this conversation. "We've never seen a Category IV until today, who knows how powerful it is" Herc said exasperatedly as finally the Drivesuit was completely attached.

"Oh please" Scott fumed as the pair began to march towards the Conn-Pod's main hatch "You and I could take this thing down in a heartbeat, the council's just overreacting"

"Well personally I'd rather wait and see what these two lads do before I judge them" Herc finally said, trying to end the discussion before the pair entered the drift.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Scott said as the massive bulkhead leading into the decapitated Jaeger head hissed open.

* * *

"How far away from the shoreline is it now Mr. Choi?" Pentecost enquired with a commanding tone.

"Roughly two hundred kilometres" came the quick reply from Tendo "It'll make landfall in about an hour"

"And how are the Jaeger teams?" Admittedly, Pentecost wasn't a fan of the council's decision to launch three Jaegers. But the Marshall also wasn't a fan of them sending in a pair of rookies against a Category IV.

"Lucky Seven and Horizon Brave are in the air, and should arrive within the next thirty minutes" Tendo said, furiously working on his computer "Gipsy Danger's going through final checks, and should be ready for deployment any minute now".

Pentecost nodded, he was about to give Tendo orders to relay to the three teams, but a young technician suddenly came into the control room and saluted "Sir! Doctor Serizawa is here" he said simply.

"Very good" the Marshall said as he started to leave the room, only for another technician to burst in.

"Sir! There's a reporter on the helipad, claiming he has an appointment with you" he said frantically.

Pentecost inwardly groaned, he'd forgotten about the journalist the council had sent over. This was the last thing he needed right now, but there wasn't enough time to complain, only time to act.

"I'll go and meet our guests, Mr. Choi, you man the command centre until I return" he ordered, as a chorus of recognition answered him.

* * *

It felt wrong somehow, the fact that the rest of the Shatterdome was bustling with activity, and Serizawa was in another waiting room. It felt like he spent more time waiting to see people then he ever did actually seeing them.

Before he could get into the actual calculations to support this hypothesis, the massive steel bulkhead groaned open as the tall frame of Marshall Stacker Pentecost came through.

Serizawa sprang to his feet and politely bowed "Marshall" he said quickly.

Pentecost smiled slightly as he repeated the gesture "Doctor" was his response "Sorry I could not meet you as you landed, as I'm sure you can imagine it's been a very hectic day." Pentecost said in a tone devoid of humour.

"And about to get even more chaotic I imagine" Serizawa mused solemnly "Shall we get to work then?" Serizawa ventured.

Pentecost gave a slightly agitated look "We can't just yet Doctor, we have another guest waiting" the Marshall said with disdain dripping from his voice.

Before Serizawa could question the Marshall, the heavy steel door creaked open behind him "I take it that's my cue?" came a slick American accent.

Pentecost and Serizawa turned towards the voice, as a grinning man leaned through the door. He looked to be in his late thirties, maybe early forties, his pitch black hair kept short.

He fully stepped through the door, a dark grey suit adorning his body as he swiftly made his way up to the other two men and held out his hand "Steve Martin" he said simply.

Serizawa shook his hand slowly, but Pentecost didn't bother, instead choosing to glare at the reporter "Mr. Martin" the Marshall said, barely restraining the annoyed tone in his voice "I thought I sent instructions for you to wait on the helipad"

"Oh you did, I just wanted to do the meet and greet fast so I could get up into the air" Martin replied honestly "Granted, I don't have to coordinate an army like you do Marshall, but I need time to get the equipment ready, especially since the PPDC wants this to be a live broadcast"

Serizawa gave him a confused look "The PPDC asked you to come?" he asked.

"Yeah, they sent a message to United World News, asking if we'd be interested in a close up look at one of their operations, connect to the general public and show them the brave exploits of the men and women in the corps" Martin smiled. "It'll look very good in the eyes of the people, seeing a trio of Jaegers viciously beat down a Kaiju."

Pentecost glared "Yes go on, go do your job" he snapped, clearly not amused by Steve and his banter.

Steve laughed and turned towards Serizawa "Pleasure to meet you doctor, I'm a massive fan" he said politely.

"Thank you" Serizawa said somewhat nervously, he never did do well with praise.

"Once this whole operation is over, perhaps I can get an interview from you? Get your expert opinion on these strange beasts assaulting us?".

Before Serizawa could respond, Pentecost stepped in "Don't you have equipment to prepare?" he growled.

"Ah yes, of course I should be off, I trust there will be a direct line from the command centre and my chopper?"

"Yes, it's all been taken care of, now if you don't mind, we have work to do" Pentecost snapped.

"Good, good" Steve said happily as he started to leave "Hope you tune in for my broadcast" he said as he shut the door behind him and left the pair to their devices.

Serizawa looked at the seething Pentecost "We should make our way to the command centre" he finally said "The sooner I can work with the instruments, the sooner I can give you accurate data on the Category IV"

Pentecost composed himself with a small cough "Yes, of course, right this way Doctor Serizawa" he said as the Marshall began the march back to the command centre.

* * *

In the back of his head, Steve knew it wasn't wise to wind up Stacker Pentecost, but he'd be lying if he said it wasn't fun.

Perhaps a part of him resented being here. In the days before the war he'd been a hard hitting journalist, uncovering corruption and fighting injustice in his own way.

But when the Kaiju appeared, that all went out the window. No longer was it United World News' job to present the facts, now it was their job to present the truth as the PPDC saw fit.

To make matters worse, Steve was well aware of the corruption in the PPDC, not just from the council members, but the rangers themselves. He'd been on the verge of breaking a story involving black market deals with a guy in Hong Kong, when he got the call to come here and get footage of the operation.

As Steve began to climb into the chopper they'd be using to film the battle, he couldn't help but lament how he'd gone from a reporter, to a glorified boxing commentator.

* * *

"Lucky Seven and Horizon Brave are within visual range sir" Tendo called out as Pentecost and Serizawa entered the room. Upon the main monitor, a pair of steel titans could be seen, being airlifted above the ocean by a fleet of V-50 Jumphawks.

Immediately the doctor made his way over to the nearest open console and began to work, as Pentecost took up position behind Tendo.

"Horizon, can you hear me?" Pentecost said into the mic placed upon the work station. Through the speakers came a pair of affirmations in response "I want you to take position ten miles from the shore and remain there, you're the advance guard on this"

The Chinese Jaeger pilots sent back another confirmation, before the line went silent. Pentecost gazed up at the massive view monitor just as the cables holding one of the Jaegers disengaged.

"Lucky Seven, you're going to hang back three miles behind Horizon, I want you to provide support if need be and engage the Category IV if it evades Horizon".

"Understood Marshall" came the voice of Herc Hansen over the comms. Pentecost was glad Herc was here, nice to have an old friend at your side.

"And finally Gipsy Danger, you are to take position close to the shoreline, you're the last resort if the Kaiju breaks our defensive line".

"Yes sir" came the slightly disappointed voices of the Becket brothers.

"You all know your, move into position and prepare for battle!" Pentecost said, ending his transmission.

"Marshall, I've got some more information on the Category IV" Serizawa suddenly said over the chatter of the command centre. With a swift movement, Pentecost was behind the doctor and looking at his screen.

A computer generated outline of the Kaiju floated on the holographic display as various numbers appeared all around it "According to the more recent scans, it's roughly ninety metres tall, and approaching five thousand tonnes in weight" Serizawa explained.

"It certainly sounds threatening" Pentecost mused "Let's see how tough it actually is".

* * *

Raleigh Becket was not overly pleased with his and his brothers placement in this operation. Yes they were both the least experienced, yes they'd only had a couple successful drops, but Gipsy Danger was the most advanced of the three Jaegers. It was downright patronising sending two more Jaegers to do their job.

"Don't let if get you down kid" came Yancy Becket's soothing and calm voice "We'll get our chance soon enough".

Raleigh smirked a little, part of the problem with the Drift was that you couldn't hide your opinions away. It took a great deal of concentration to keep surface thoughts locked away during the neural handshake.

"Come on, we can handle any Kaiju that comes out of the Breach, you know that" Raleigh insisted as the pair arduously piloted the Jaeger.

"I'm not disagreeing with you, but look at it this way, Horizon Brave and Lucky Seven are heroes amongst heroes, and we get to stand with them" Yancy said as Gipsy reached it's designated waiting area.

"I think you mean stand behind them" Raleigh grumbled, which elicited a laugh from his elder brother. Raleigh was always a eager to fight. Luckily for the pair his bite was far worse then his bark.

* * *

"This should be a good enough height!" Steve roared to the pilot of the chopper as he leaned back in his chair and looked down at the computer on his lap. The Shatterdome crew had rigged a remote camera to the underside of the copter and connected it to a laptop allowing Steve to control the camera with ease.

The ear piece strapped to the left side of his face gave him a direct line to the command centre so he could receive information as soon as it was made available.

Going over his equipment one final time, checking it was all working, Steve took a deep breath, and hit the a switch, turning on the broadcast.

"This is Steve Martin from UWN live in the skies above the coast of Manila" he said confidently and calmly "I'm here reporting on a massive anti-Kaiju operation being carried out by the Pan Pacific Defence Corps"

Steve manoeuvred the camera, panning across the ocean, till finally he settled on the Jaeger closest to the shore "Defending the city we have the MK-III Jaeger Gipsy Danger who's usually based in Anchorage, but luckily was on a good will tour of Asia" he said, spouting the story he'd been given.

"A little further along we have Lucky Seven, a MK-II all the way from Sydney" Steve said as he focused the camera on the titanic gold and green mech.

"And finally" he said, shifting the camera once more "We have the old favourite Horizon Brave, one of the first Jaegers deployed and the oldest unit still in active service".

The massive tan form of Horizon Brave shifted in the tranquil see as the machine took it's place and started to scan.

There was silence for a few seconds, until suddenly a few feet from Horizon Brave, a massive shape burst from the water.

An hour glass shaped plate adorned the top of the beasts skull as gigantic muscular forearms pawed at the water, as the bulky torso came into view. The Kaiju let out a roar, the water cascading off it's body.

"There's the Kaiju now" Steve said as he focused totally on the beast "The world's first Category IV Kaiju codenamed Ancile".

* * *

Ancile growled loudly as it glared at the MK-1 Jaeger standing between it and it's target. Horizon Brave wasn't the largest Jaeger in the PPDC, but it was certainly one of the bulkiest and heaviest.

Wasting no time, the massive monster let out a howl, as it stomped forwards, it's powerful legs sending waves in every direction with each step it took.

Horizon clenched it's titanic fists as it entered a combat stance, while the somewhat larger monster drew closer and closer.

With another roar, Ancile swung it's right arm at the smaller machine. Horizon Brave attempted to dodge the attack, but it's lack of speed meant it was still clipped by the blow, knocking the Jaeger back.

Horizon stumbled, trying to maintain it's balance as Ancile moved in to attack again. This time however, the Jaeger was prepared. Horizon threw a right hook, that clanged violently against Ancile's head plate. The attack itself didn't seem to do any real damage, but it disorientated the Kaiju enough to allow Horizon to move in.

Horizon threw one punch after another, aiming at the monsters vulnerable neck. But Ancile kept on shifting it's head in the way, causing the blows to harmlessly strike the heavily armoured plate.

Suddenly Ancile darted it's head forward, using the plate like the beasts namesake and shunting the Jaeger away. Horizon regained it's balance and darted in again, determined not to lose any momentum, as Ancile reared up.

The two titans grappled with one another in the ocean. Horizon's frame groaned loudly as the machine gave everything it had to try and push back it's foe. The jets on the back of the Jaeger ignited furiously trying to give the machine that extra bit of force it needed. However it wasn't enough.

Ancile roared as it used all of it's strength to overpower the Jaeger. Despite it's struggles, Horizon Brave could do nothing as the larger monstrosity pushed it back, causing the Jaeger to tumble onto it's back and crash into the sea.

The Kaiju let out a triumphant cry as it stood over the downed machine. Horizon Brave began to pick itself up, but it was never going to get back on it's feet fast enough to fend off Ancile's attack.

Colossal arms were raised in the air as Ancile prepared to finish off the Jaeger. But a massive metal shoulder being driven into the Kaiju's back prevented it from finishing the attack.

Ancile staggered backwards as it's new foe viciously punched it in the stomach, eventually breaking off the attack to take up a position between Ancile and Horizon.

Reptilian eyes glared at the green and gold interloper, this new enemy was stronger and faster then Horizon, but Ancile continued on undaunted.

The Hansen brothers let out a unified grunt of exertion as they powered forward, Lucky Seven mimicking their synchronised movement.

"The armour on it's head is too thick!" Came the voice of Serizawa over the comms system "Aim for the body".

The brothers raced on, and pulled their fists back, before letting loose with an uppercut. With a satisfying sound the metallic fist collided with Ancile's chin, just as the Australian brawlers had suspected, it was significantly less protected then the rest of it's head.

Ancile staggered back, dazed somewhat from the impact, as Lucky Seven capitalised on it's moment of weakness. The MK-II Jaeger forcefully grabbed the side of the Kaiju's face plate with it's left hand, and followed the action by repeatedly driving it's right fist into Ancile's torso.

The Kaiju howled in both pain and rage as it struggled violently. One of it's massive arms clipped the side of Lucky Seven, causing it to lose it's grip.

"Damn it" Scott growled as the Jaeger backed away from the thrashing beast "This thing won't go down, any bright ideas old man?"

"Yeah, we hit it till it stops moving" came Herc's quick response, a sentiment his younger brother shared, as Lucky Seven charged in again.

Ancile growled and prepared to attack the oncoming Jaeger, but a familiar tan machine suddenly struck the side of it's head. The Kaiju roared and went to strike it's revitalised enemy, but once more Lucky Seven tackled it, driving it's steel shoulder as far into the monster's gut as was possible.

The beast once more let out a pain filled howl as it viciously struck at the green and gold Jaeger, however Horizon Brave once more moved in, throwing all it's weight into a punched that dug in deep to the Kaiju's abdomen.

With a roar, Ancile pushed Lucky Seven and Horizon Brave away, as it slowly backed up from the two Jaegers.

The machines stood in place, waiting for their enemy to make another attack run, but Ancile just kept on moving backwards, never taking it's eyes off of the Jaegers in the process.

"Running away?!" Scott roared "What kind of Kaiju are you?!"

Herc however was extremely worried, normally the Kaiju had been extremely simple minded, never seeming to think tactically or be anything more then violent creatures. Ancile however seemed to be planning, or at the very least it was showing a level of caution he'd never seen before.

When the creature was a good distance away, it finally stopped moving, and settled down. It slumped onto it's forelegs and glared up at the Jaegers, it's neck somewhat retracting as it's head lowered down.

As Herc watched this, realisation struck him, a split second later flowing into Scott "Oh shit" came their response.

With a terrible sound, Ancile took off, running on all fours and charging like a rhino. It's speed was almost unimaginable for a creature of it's size as it tore it's way through the water towards the Jaegers.

At the last second, Lucky Seven and Horizon Brave shifted their positions, not enough to totally avoid the charging Ancile, but enough to mitigate the damage. With a crash, the two Jaegers fell into the sea, as Ancile continued on, now focused on a new target.

* * *

Yancy gave a nervous laugh "Guess you get your wish kid".

Raleigh breathed in deep "Come on, let's show the old timers how it's done" he said somewhat excitedly as the two brothers began to work in tandem.

Gipsy Danger, a hulking blue titan of steel, braced itself as it watched the Kaiju get closer and closer. In the distance the Becket brothers could see the other two Jaegers picking themselves up and starting to give chase, but it would be a few minutes before they reached their position.

"Rookies!" Came the voice of Herc Hansen over the radio "Hold the Kaiju until we get there, do not let it into the city!"

"Roger" Yancy said "Gipsy Danger, moving to engage".

And with that, the MK-III Jaeger took off into a sprint. It's heavy feet crashing through the water as it raced on to meet it's charging opponent.

Ancile glared at Gipsy as it closed in, ready to ram the Jaeger with all of it's might. The pair were mere inches from colliding, when at the last second, Gipsy Danger shifted it's course and moved out of the way of Ancile's attack.

Before the Kaiju had a chance to respond, Gipsy delivered a swift knee into Ancile's exposed belly, breaking it's concentration and sending the creature sprawling to the floor.

Not missing a beat, Gipsy Danger moved in, delivering punch after punch onto the downed Kaiju's chest, specifically aiming for the spot Lucky Seven had previously targeted.

From it's position, Ancile was struggling to recover and get back to it's feet, a fact that was exacerbated by Gipsy Danger's relentless assault upon it. Finally though, with a kick from it's hind legs, Gipsy was forced back far enough to allow Ancile to stand up.

Ancile roared as it reached out for the smaller Jaeger, who in return raced to meet it. The colossi grappled with one another, Ancile attempting to use it's size and weight to it's advantage and crush the mech.

However, Gipsy shifted it's position, and forced Ancile to the floor, allowing the machine to once more let out a hail of punches.

* * *

Pentecost felt a great deal of pride well in his chest as he watched Gipsy Danger battle with Ancile "The basic principle of Judo is to use your enemies weight against them" he mused aloud to no one in particular "What's the ETA on Lucky and Horizon?" he asked.

"They should reach their destination in two minutes sir!" came Tendo's swift reply, he too was happy to see the Becket boys in action.

Pentecost turned towards Serizawa's station "Don't worry doctor, from the looks of things, you'll have a fresh corpse to work on any minute now".

Serizawa however didn't respond, his eyes remained glued to the screen "This can't be right" he muttered under his breath.

His hands blurred across the keyboard as he checked, double checked and triple checked the information he was seeing. Sonar was picking up a massive object rapidly closing in on their position, but none of the other detection systems were going off.

Frantically, Serizawa turned to Pentecost "Marshall! Are there any ships operating in the area?!" he shouted across the room.

There was silence as everyone turned towards the somewhat manic doctor "None that I'm aware of" Pentecost said with a concerned expression, as he swiftly made his way over to Serizawa.

Pentecost stared at Serizawa's screen intently "What do the other instruments say?" he said in the most serious tone any man has ever used.

"Nothing!" came Serizawa's reply "None of our sensors are picking it up, and it's not a glitch with the Sonar, I've checked it too many times".

"Get me a visual on this thing now!" Pentecost roared to the entire command centre, as they all frantically went to work.

* * *

"It seems as if Gipsy Danger has Ancile on the ropes" Steve said into the mic as he tried his best to keep the camera on the flailing bodies. As much as he'd been resentful of his role earlier, Steve had to admit that this was a breathtaking sight so far, perhaps this gig wasn't so bad after all.

With a thud, Gipsy Danger and Ancile separated again. The two combatants circled one another, waiting for an opening to take advantage of.

However, much to everyone's shock, Ancile suddenly stopped moving. Gipsy backed away, expecting a lunge from the larger adversary, but it never came.

Ancile sniffed the air and let out a few low growls, as it suddenly whirled around to gaze into the open ocean, it's back towards the Jaeger, still sniffing the air while it's eyes scanned the water.

"What is it doing?" Steve wondered aloud, Ancile clearly wasn't looking at the other two Jaegers, they were in the other direction. A sense of dread and excitement started to bloom inside his chest as a hunch came into his head.

Whipping the camera round, Steve tried his best to follow Ancile's line of sight, till finally it found just what the creature was so distracted by.

A colossal black shape moved swiftly, just below the surface of the water, as what looked like blue mountains carved their way through, like a hot knife through butter.

Steve looked on in both awe and fear, the panicked cries and sounds of the command centre blaring in his left ear, as he watched the object break the surface.

A mountain of charcoal coloured scales rose up, as the salt water cascaded down the tremendous form. Bright blue spikes crept down the figures spine, starting with the space between the shoulder blades, and slowly getting smaller and smaller the further down then went.

A long, serpentine tail waved out behind it menacingly as vicious, dark yellow eyes looked around slowly. It's clawed fingers stretched and curled as it slowly moved it's arms in time with the movements of it's tail.

* * *

Serizawa and the rest of the Shatterdome crew looked on in silent horror as this new creature stood up. Even the Marshall was visibly shaken, a feat Serizawa would have once thought impossible.

"Umm...Command?" came the somewhat shaking voice of Raleigh Becket "What the hell is that thing?!"

This seemed to snap the crew out of their daze as Tendo began to work frantically "Gimme a second here...It's a...Damn it! The systems aren't reading it!" he shouted angrily "I can't tell you it's classification, I can't tell you anything!"

Serizawa however, continued to gaze at this monster in awe, finally one word and one word only came out of his mouth.

* * *

Bright yellow eyes locked onto the massive form of Ancile, who snarled and struck the ground forcefully, letting out loud howls and cries, as if it was trying to intimidate it's new foe.

He snarled, his faced locked into a perpetual scowl as it glared at this intruder. Ancile continued to make noise, rearing onto it's hind legs to try and appear larger.

He however was far from intimidated. As Ancile let out another roar, He reared back and took in air and finally responded to Ancile's exclamations.

His titanic roar felt as if it could shake the world as the low, deep rumble slowly turned into a higher pitch. Immediately Ancile was silenced, even the metallic creatures seemed to be shaken by His roar.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen...I...I can't believe what I'm seeing here, but a second Kaiju has appeared" Steve said, still aghast at this beasts revelation.

He listened intently to the ear piece, trying to get some info on this new creature. So far all he'd gleamed was that it wasn't registering on any of their systems and was going without an official classification.

Steve was on the verge of ripping the useless thing out, but then he heard something, a name. It was hard to make out, what with all the background noise, but he thought he got the gist of it.

"I'm just receiving word from the PPDC now" Steve explained, focusing solely upon the black scaled behemoth "It's Category is unknown. It's name is..." Steve paused, playing the name over in his head, making sure it sounded right.

"Godzilla".


	5. Chapter 4: Emergence

Amidst all the fear and awe racing through Ishiro Serizawa's mind as he stared, transfixed at this charcoal coloured monstrosity in the bay of Manila, a very, very small part of him felt smug.

He knew there was something else out there, his hypothesis had been proven right. Admittedly though, another, much larger part wished he had been wrong.

Through all the chatter, the broadcast of Steve Martin echoed throughout the command centre, as one word in particular stood out.

"Godzilla?" Pentecost said confusedly, never taking his eyes off of the now named newcomer. The Marshall watched as the massive frame of Ancile roared and howled, slamming it's arms into the sea again and again, it's gaze focused solely on Godzilla.

"Sir?" came the confused voice of Raleigh Becket through the radio. However before he could complete his question, an extremely agitated Australian man interrupted him.

"Why the hell didn't you tell us there were two Kaiju?!" Scott Hansen practically screamed through the comms.

Pentecost fumed, he did not take kindly to such flagrant disrespect "You will have information when we have some to give, Ranger" came the angry response from the Marshall, his tone instantly causing the younger Hansen to shut up.

"Can anyone tell me anything about this Godzilla thing?!" he roared to the command centre. His call snapped everyone out of their daze as they frantically tried to get some readings on this new Kaiju.

Serizawa's brow furrowed as he worked, all of the sensors and equipment he'd helped design scan Kaiju based on specific criteria. The toxicity level of their blood and the unique radioactive signature they gave off being how they tracked the monsters so easily, but the black creature gave off no such signature.

Yelling in frustration, Serizawa stepped away from his console and moved to the centre of the room. The computer systems were useless right now, he'd be better off going by visual information.

He gazed up once more at the creature identified as Godzilla. It's composition was radically different to that of all other Kaiju seen thus far. For one thing it lacked the sickly greyish skin and blue bio-luminescense present on Ancile.

As he watched the two monsters glare and roar at one another Serizawa thought on all those debates he and his colleagues had about the Kaiju and their social skills. Since two Kaiju had never been seen together at one time, it was impossible to accurately say, but there'd been some theories sent around.

The most popular theory was that the Kaiju were hunter gatherers. They attacked major cities to gather food or find a nesting ground, before returning to their home world through the Breach, but that of course was based on speculation.

Another theory said that the Kaiju were highly aggressive, so aggressive that they avoided one another, hence why there had never been a Double Event. However from the way Godzilla and Ancile reacted to each other, it seemed as if the latter theory held more merit.

Pentecost too, noticed the way the two creatures were acting towards one another, as the basics of a plan formed in his head. A slight grin briefly flashed across his otherwise serious face, before vanishing.

"Seems they don't like each other" he mused "I say we should let them fight" he said commandingly as he turned towards the comms system.

"Gipsy, Lucky, Horizon, regroup on the coastline and keep the Kaiju from entering the city!" he ordered.

"Roger Marshall!" came the unified response, as the three Jaegers began to change course.

"When these two finish their spat, I want you to move in formation and terminate the victor, seems today might be our lucky day, two Kaiju corpses for the price of one".

* * *

Ancile continued it's rather frantic movements, roaring and pounding again and again at Godzilla, who in contrast was much stiller and quieter after his initial roar.

It was clear that the grey abomination was trying to antagonise it, enrage Godzilla into making the first move. But the charcoal mountain just stood there, snarling and waving it's tail.

Finally, Ancile grew tired of waiting, and started to stomp towards Godzilla. The larger reptile watched intently as Ancile lumbered forwards, still howling wildly, trying to prove it's dominance.

The Category IV swung one of it's massive arms, intent on striking Godzilla's chest. But finally the charcoal beast made it's move. With a swiftness unbecoming of his size, Godzilla twisted his midsection and threw all of his weight into a sideways shunt.

The force from the impact knocked Ancile off balance. The alien tried to grab Godzilla's massive frame to steady itself, but Godzilla's clawed arm came up and viciously smashed into Ancile's face, striking the end of it's snout, the weakest section of it's entire head.

Ancile fell to the ground, the ocean shifting all around it as Godzilla bore down and drove his gigantic foot into Ancile's prone form.

The Kaiju groaned as it rolled away and climbed back to it's feet while Godzilla slowly marched towards it. However Ancile refused to back down, and charged again, this time not aiming to strike Godzilla, but to grab it.

Godzilla brought it's arms up and let out a low roar, catching the charging Ancile and struggling with it. Ancile thrashed and pushed as best it could, trying to throw Godzilla down or at least push him back, but the dinosaur gave as good as it got.

The two behemoths butted heads as they glared at one another, Ancile desperately trying to out muscle it's foe and slowly losing it's footing.

Suddenly, Godzilla's grip on the other monster strengthened, as the dinosaur began to pull instead of push. Ancile could do nothing as Godzilla's torso twisted, and pulled the Category IV off of it's feet.

With a burst of strength Godzilla threw Ancile, the beast flying through the air a few metres, before crashing back down into the water.

Ancile was dazed as it tried to pull itself back up, but Godzilla was already back on the offensive. The charcoal behemoth used his impressive strength to force Ancile down, before opening his massive maw, and viciously biting into Ancile's shoulder.

* * *

High in the sky, Steve Martin felt ill.

Not from the flight of course, all the years of jet setting had made him immune to travel sickness. It was the viciousness of the fight that afflicted him today.

He'd seen many battles between Kaiju and Jaegers in the past, and he'd looked at them with a cold, clinical eye, but this was different. It wasn't a machine fighting a monster, it was two animals locked in a life or death struggle.

Even in the helicopter he could hear Ancile's scream of agony as Godzilla's jaws ripped and tore at it's flesh. He saw a wave of shining blue blood seep out from Godzilla's mouth as the creature pulled away, and with a sickening sound, took a chunk of Ancile's shoulder with it.

Immediately, Godzilla opened his mouth and let the piece of Kaiju fall into the ocean below, as Ancile thrashed wildly. Using it's good arm, Ancile struck out at Godzilla with all of it's might, pushing the black beast off, and giving the Cat IV the chance it needed to escape.

Ancile pulled itself back to it's feet as it turned back towards Godzilla and threw another blow, catching the side of Godzilla's neck. However, Godzilla fought through the attack and dived forward, digging his clawed hands into Ancile's chest and ripping some more.

Blue blood dripped down across the Kaiju's frame as it struggled to free itself from Godzilla's hook like grip. Godzilla moved his head down, and tried to bite into Ancile's neck, but the Kaiju managed to pull away just in time.

Using all of it's strength, Ancile managed to separate itself from Godzilla, and quickly began to move in the opposite direction from it's foe.

The sickness in Steve's chest was slowly replaced by a sense of unease, he had a feeling Ancile wasn't truly retreating from this battle, although it couldn't be faulted for doing so.

And as if to confirm his suspicions, when Ancile was a good distance away from Godzilla, it turned around and crouched down onto all four legs. Ancile's head lowered and locked into place, it's eyes fixed onto it's target as it pawed at the ground and prepared.

Godzilla tilted it's head, giving it an almost curious look as it watched Ancile. The black creature standing it's ground once more waiting for his prey to come to him.

With a roar Ancile charged, once more using that almost impossible speed to race towards it's opponent. Ancile's gigantic limbs shattered through the mirror like surface of the water as it closed in, it's face plate lowered and ready to strike.

Godzilla however showed no fear, and gave no indication that he was going to back down. Godzilla slightly hunkered down, his tail settling into the water as he raised his arms in anticipation, and let out a loud roar.

With a tremendous sound, Ancile struck it's target. Godzilla was pushed back a few feet, but maintained his balance with ease and used the situation to grasp the other Kaiju's head plate.

Ancile roared as it tried to break Godzilla's grip on it's head, but from it's position it couldn't lash out with it's arms and hit Godzilla, a fact that the larger monster used to it's advantage.

Godzilla pushed and pulled as he held onto Ancile's head plate, forcing the Kaiju's head down low and keeping it restrained. He fought against Ancile's neck muscles as the dinosaur twisted and turned in the opposite direction to Ancile's wild thrashes.

Finally, Godzilla forced Ancile to the floor totally, as the massive monster let go of Ancile's head. Capitalising on it's release, Ancile sprung to it's feet and went to attack Godzilla, however the black behemoth had expected that, perhaps even counted on it.

Ancile could do nothing as Godzilla used the momentum of the throw to whip his body around as that large bulky tail soared towards the Kaiju's head.

With a sickening crack, Godzilla's tail struck home. Colliding with the side of Ancile's face and neck. There was silence all around as Ancile fell into the water once more, this time offering no resistance as it's titanic form crashed into the sea. Godzilla stomped over to the motionless figure of the Kaiju and looked down, before bending over and grasping Ancile's head plate once more.

The limp frame of Ancile was pulled up by Godzilla as the monstrosity observed it's opponent. Ancile's head hung uselessly. Satisfied, Godzilla released Ancile's corpse and let it fall back into the ocean with a crash as Godzilla turned to the sky and let out an earth shaking, victorious roar.

* * *

There was silence as the Hansen brothers stared in horror at Godzilla. During the battle, Lucky Seven and Horizon Brave had caught up to Gipsy Danger and watched on.

"It...It tore through the Cat IV like it was nothing!" Scott said shakily.

Herc however tried his best to be a professional "What are your orders Marshall?" he shouted. There was silence from the other end of the line, a fact which greatly disturbed Herc.

In the distance, Herc could see Godzilla turn away from the sky and the already decomposing Kaiju, and instead stared directly at the three Jaegers. Herc shivered as he felt the beasts piercing gaze fall upon them.

Scott's fear and panic tore through Herc, but he ignored it as he tried to reach command yet again "Marshall?!" he called once more the answer just being silence.

"Oh god damn it, it's coming this way!" Scott called suddenly, forcing Herc to look through the view screen.

Sure enough, the mountain of black scales was wading through the ocean towards them. That scowling face fixed upon them as it marched on slowly but surely.

"For god's sake Marshall what are our damn orders?!" Herc said, the last of his patience gone. Luckily though, that seemed to work.

"Engage at will!" Pentecost roared down the radio to all three Jaegers.

"I was afraid he'd say that" Scott said aloud as the brothers began to move, flanked by Gipsy and Horizon.

* * *

It was extremely unlike Pentecost to freeze up like that. He'd let his arrogance get the best of him, he'd grossly underestimated Godzilla's capabilities and had found himself awed by the beasts savagery and power.

Even now, he was unsure if he should have ordered the three Jaegers to attack, but he had no real choice in the matter. He watched with an unwavering stare as Lucky Seven led the charge, it's brethren following close behind, with the three of them entering a tight V-Formation.

"Sir, the council's on line one" a technician suddenly said.

Pentecost didn't even bother looking at his subordinate, not daring to tear his eyes away from the impending battle "Tell them I'm busy" he growled. The absolute last thing he wanted was to deal with politicians right now.

* * *

Lucky struck first, throwing it's fist into Godzilla's chest. There was a resounding thud as it impacted, reverberating all the way through Lucky's body. It was like punching a brick wall.

Godzilla roared and swiped downwards at the shorter Jaeger, sparks exploded outwards as the claw scraped against steel. Lucky Seven staggered backwards as the black behemoth stomped towards it, preparing to strike again.

At the last second though, Horizon Brave leapt into action. Throwing itself between the Kaiju and the Jaeger. The MK-1 held both of it's arms above it's head as Godzilla closed in, ready to fight the tan machine before it.

Horizon struck, putting all it's weight into the blow, and striking Godzilla's chest. The beast stumbled back slightly as Horizon moved in and tried to punch. With a growl Godzilla moved forward again, grabbing onto Horiozn's metallic frame. Horizon tried it's best to fight back as the significantly larger monster shook and clawed at it. Suddenly, a mass of blue stepped up and grabbed onto Godzilla's midsection, joining Horizon in the push.

Godzilla roared as it grappled with both Jaegers, their combined might managing to fend off Godzilla's overwhelming strength.

"What is this thing made of?!" Raleigh yelled through the comms as Gipsy's Conn Pod shook and rattled from the clash.

"We'll find out when it's dead!" Scott roared in response as Lucky Seven tackled Godzilla. The combined power of the three Jaegers managed to push back Godzilla, sending the monstrosity falling backwards into the ocean.

The six pilots let out a unified cheer as Godzilla's titanic frame shattered the waters surface, however their celebration was cut short as Godzilla's tail swept outwards, and smashed into Horizon Brave's side.

The old Jaeger fell to the ground as Godzilla climbed back up, his yellow eyes burning with rage as he roared again.

Lucky Seven tried to defend itself, but it was too slow as Godzilla roughly shunted into the Jaeger, knocking it down as well. Finally Godzilla turned to the last Jaeger standing and let out yet another roar, daring Gipsy Danger to challenge it

With no other alternative, Gipsy moved in and began grappling with the monster among monsters. It was a futile effort though, Godzilla was far too heavy and strong to overpower, and every time Gipsy tried to shift it's centre of gravity, Godzilla bared down on it more and more.

Gipsy started to step backwards, the only thing it could do to avoid being knocked down by Godzilla, which unfortunately sent the pair on a collision course with the city docks.

With a crash, Gipsy was forced onto the land, Godzilla following suit, as the MK-III Jaeger tried to get it's bearings. Gipsy went in to strike, but with a swift movement, Godzilla's tail came up and collided with the Jaeger, knocking it further into the city, crushing a few buildings in the process.

"I said to keep it out of the city!" Pentecost roared through the comms.

"We're trying!" came Yancy's exasperated response as Gipsy prepared for the next attack.

With a resounding crash, Godzilla's head impacted onto Gipsy's torso, forcing the Jaeger to stagger back. Godzilla howled furiously as it went to close the gap between it and Gipsy.

Raleigh looked to his brother, both panting from exhaustion "Fire up the Elbow Rocket!" he yelled as the pair leaned their right arms back. Gipsy followed suit, mimicking it's pilots movement, as a large booster appeared on the mech's elbow. With a ferocious sound, the rocket ignited as it began to pick up momentum, all the while Godzilla bore down on them, prepared to land the killing blow.

Finally the rocket was fully charged, and so with a grunt of exertion, the Becket brothers finally threw the punch they'd held onto. The rocket carried the attack through the air at break neck speed, till finally it hit it's target and impacted against Godzilla's snout.

Godzilla let out a high pitched sound as it stumbled back, and ultimately fell to the floor. Crushing several buildings along the way. The ground beneath Gipsy shook "Yeah!" Yancy and Raleigh said together, as Godzilla slowly pulled itself back up.

"Shit" Raleigh swore as he and his brother prepared Gipsy's last weapon, the arm mounted plasma cannon. The sound of clanging metal filled the air as Gipsy's right hand started to break apart and reform, the five fingers merging into three prongs while energy arced between them.

Godzilla glared at the Jaeger and roared again, prompting Gipsy to fire.

The ball of blue plasma impacted onto Godzilla's chest. Godzilla let out another pain filled cry as it's chest smouldered, but much to the Becket brothers disappointment, that was all it did. Usually the plasma cannon would tear through Kaiju hides with ease, but it seemed apparent that Godzilla was made of sterner stuff then the average giant monster.

Gipsy prepared to fire another shot, but a lash from Godzilla's tail sent the Jaeger tumbling the to ground, it's right hand automatically shifting back to normal in the process. Godzilla loomed over it's fallen foe, smoke still rising from it's body as the beast once more went to attack. But at the last second, that familiar green and gold titan intervened.

Lucky Seven latched onto Godzilla's right arm and held on for dear life "Don't just sit there rookies" Herc screamed through the radio "Grab him!" Not missing a beat, Gipsy Danger pulled itself up from the ground and grabbed hold of Godzilla's left arm. Godzilla roared again as it bucked and thrashed, trying to get rid of the Jaegers holding it.

Godzilla was certainly stronger then both Jaegers, but they weren't really trying to overpower him, just merely keep him somewhat still. "Now Horizon!" Herc yelled as he and Scott held on with everything they had "Freeze the bastard!".

The tan MK-I stood amidst the partially destroyed city and took aim. The massive canisters upon it's shoulders began to open, revealing what looked like giant cannons.

In truth they were cannons, albeit not ones that shot traditional ammunition. Horizon Brave was outfitted with a pair of uniquely designed Cryo-Cannons. These weapons launched a concentrated blast of a special compound based on Liquid Nitrogen, which could almost instantly freeze anything it came into contact with. The downside was it took a few seconds to prepare the weapon, hence why Lucky and Gipsy had to restrain Godzilla.

The cannons began to charge as Godzilla continued to thrash and stomp, it swung it's tail but couldn't get a good, solid hit on either Jaegers latching onto it. Finally, the beasts eyes fell upon Horizon Brave.

Suddenly Godzilla stopped thrashing and roaring, the monster became still, never taking it's eyes off of the MK-I Jaeger.

"What's it doing?" Herc wondered aloud.

"Who cares?!" came Raleigh's reply through the radio "Blast it now!"

At that moment, an eerie blue light began to fill up the cockpit, as the spines running down Godzilla's tail slowly began to light up with an ethereal glow.

The four pilots looked on in horrified silence as the light crawled it's way up Godzilla's back. The light grew brighter as the larger spines began to shine, till finally the wave of blue reached the base of Godzilla's neck.

Godzilla pulled his head back slightly and breathed in deeply, before leaning forward and opening his mouth wide.

In a flash of blue, a stream of energy fired from the beasts open maw. The Hansen's and Becket's averted their eyes from the blinding azure light, as the beam soared through the air towards Horizon Brave. The MK-I relic could do nothing as the blast impacted it's head. An explosion rocked the entire city as Horizon's Conn-Pod disintegrated from the force of the blast. With Horizon's head completely wiped out, Godzilla tilted his head down, aiming the blue stream.

With a series of sparks, the attack travelled down the remains of Horizon Brave, destroying and melting the Jaeger's armour plating and sending pieces of shrapnel flying in every direction. Finally however, the blast faded away as Godzilla shut his mouth, and the light on his spines vanished. The charred and destroyed remains of Horizon Brave stood still for a second, before finally collapsing lifelessly to the ground.

Herc stared blankly, not quite registering what had just happened. He'd never once in his worst nightmares imagined he'd see something like that. A pair of old friends wiped out in an instant, it reminded him of the bombings in Sydney that had claimed his family.

He jerked as the Drift between himself and Scott began to desynchronise. A flood of memories and thoughts that weren't his own entered Herc's mind, his eyes widening in shock as information Scott had tried so hard to keep away from Herc opened up before him.

* * *

"Lucky Seven's gone totally out of sync!" Tendo cried desperately as he worked, trying to re-establish the neural handshake as best as he could.

Pentecost watched in horror as Godzilla pulled himself free of Lucky Seven's hold, using his now mobile left hand to viciously pound on Gipsy's conn pod.

The MK-III could do nothing as the beast forced it off, and turned towards the helpless Lucky Seven. Godzilla roared as it bit down on Lucky Seven's neck, all the while using his titanic strength to crush the Jaeger's armour.

"Systems are dying all over the place!" Tendo exclaimed "Lucky Seven, get out of there!".

However the Hansen brothers didn't respond, as Godzilla continued to rip and tear at the seemingly useless Jaeger.

With a crash, Gipsy tackled Godzilla and began to beat on the monsters bulky chest. But it did nothing save for diverting Godzilla's attention. A resounding thud heralded the attack as Godzilla smashed into Gipsy Danger, who's chest armour dented in response to the creature's strike.

"Shit" Tendo swore "Gipsy's power output is dropping like crazy, I think Godzilla damaged the connections!"

"Gipsy! Move!" Pentecost ordered, but it was too late. With a final swipe from Godzilla, Gipsy Danger fell backwards, hitting the ground full force, as it's reactor initiated an emergency shut down.

Godzilla stood amongst the destroyed area, all of it's foes lying on the ground, defeated. And so the monster amongst monsters did what it did best, and let out a booming roar heralding it's victory. Stacker shook slightly, so this was it? This monstrosity was going to lay waste to the city with nothing to oppose it? Had all their battles before been for nothing?

And then Godzilla began to move away from the city, moving back towards the destroyed remains of Horizon Brave. The Kaiju hovered above what was left of the MK-I Jaeger. It sniffed the air curiously, as it slowly reached down with it's claws. The terrible sound of metal being torn apart filled the air, as Godzilla ripped into what remained of Horizon's chest cavity. Pentecost and Serizawa stared in silent horror, the camera's couldn't quite pick up what the creature was doing, as it violently shoved it's snout into Horiozn's chest.

"Is it going after the reactor?" Pentecost asked.

"Maybe it feeds on radiation" Serizawa ventured "That would explain why the Jaeger on Odo Island had it's core drained" he reasoned mostly to himself.

After a minute, Godzilla pulled back and surveyed it's wrecked surroundings as if searching for a new opponent to fight. Content that it was alone, Godzilla turned it's back on the city, and stomped back towards the ocean, much to the surprise of every man, woman and child in the world watching this spectacle. With a crash, Godzilla entered the ocean and slowly began to wade through the shallows, his massive form slowly disappearing beneath the waves.

Till finally he was gone from sight.

"Send out a rescue team now! Give me status reports on Lucky Seven and Gipsy Danger!" Pentecost ordered as everyone scrambled to work.

Tendo furiously worked his computer as he pulled up the required information "I'm getting life signs from both Jaegers" he said with a relieved tone "Gipsy Danger's damage is superficial, but Lucky Seven's frame has been totally destroyed" he said solemnly.

Pentecost let out a small sigh "Better than nothing" he said simply, as he watched the Jumphawks fly out towards the damaged Jaegers.

The radio to Lucky Sevens cockpit briefly crackled to life as unintelligible yelling and grunting was heard, normally Pentecost would be curious about what certainly sounded like a brawl between pilots, but he had something else on his mind.

The Marshall stormed over towards Serizawa, and pulled him to one side "You called that thing Gojira" he whispered angrily "Did you know about it?!"

Serizawa looked into the Marshall's furious eyes "I had my suspicions" he said simply, trying his best to avoid further eye contact.

"Why did you not tell me?!" Pentecost growled, sounding almost as feral as the Kaiju themselves.

"I had no hard evidence" Serizawa justified "I was ordered to keep my theories to myself" he spat, annoyed at his father's meddling. Perhaps if he'd have gotten his initial report published, today's tragedy could have been avoided.

Instantly Pentecost understood what Serizawa meant, he too had been screwed by the council on many occasions. He released the doctor and took in a calming breath "Sorry" he finally said.

"No, you're right, I am at fault" Serizawa apologised.

Pentecost looked him in the eye once more "I'm going to kill that thing for what it's done here" he said darkly "And I want to know if I can count on your assistance in the future".

Serizawa thought for a minute, as much as the logical side of his mind agreed that this creature was far too dangerous to let live, he could not help but admire it's majesty and power.

"I'll help you any way I can in tracking it down" he finally said, doing his best to ignore that other side of his.

"Thank you" Pentecost said sincerely as he turned away "Come on doctor, I think you and I should address the council together" the Marshall said as an overwhelming sense of dread filled both men.


	6. Chapter 5: The More Things Change

The ground shook violently, while a thunderous boom filled the air as the massive grey skinned beast slammed into the cliff side. A high pitch squeal erupted from the downed monstrosity as it weakly looked towards it's attacker.

In a burst of movement, a colossal charcoal tail slammed the creature even further into the rock, as chunks began to break off and fall into the ocean below.

Godzilla let out a terrifying roar as it bore down on the still living Kaiju. The mountainous monster opened it's jaws leaned back, and froze in place.

"Five years" the American representative known as L. Taylor snapped "Five years since the Jaeger Program's crushing defeat in Manila."

Stacker Pentecost glared at the wall of UN representatives, hovering around the static image of Godzilla. He utterly despised talking to them on the best of days, after all, they were a bunch of ignorant, pencil pushing buffoons, content to micromanage the war from as far away from the front lines as they could possibly be.

Today however, something was different, Pentecost had received a transmission a few hours ago from Daisuke Serizawa, the representative for Japan, and the only member of the council he had any modicum of respect for. The elder Serizawa's words had been carefully picked, laced with implications, yet giving away no concrete information.

"I'm aware of that" Pentecost finally said, deciding to keep his cards close to his chest until the council revealed the reason for this little conference.

Godzilla's revelation to the world had changed the war on the Kaiju. On that day, when this lone monster bested not only a Category IV Kaiju, but three of the worlds best Jaeger's, it had become clear that the PPDC was not the invincible army they had spent so much time and money convincing the people they were.

Things hadn't just changed on the human front though. Kaiju attacks became much more frequent since that day, with almost every Kaiju exiting the Breach being either a Category III or a Category IV, and with each attack came heavy losses.

The screen showcasing the charcoal destroyer changed, turning instead into a slide show of decimated Jaeger remains.

A knot tightened in Pentecosts stomach. He recognised every single one of those machines, after all it had been him who'd sent them into the battles that killed them. Of course, the massive losses the PPDC suffered wasn't just down to the usual Kaiju. With every attack and subsequent battle with a Jaeger, came the risk of Godzilla joining the fray, and when he did, only he remained standing.

"Quite frankly Marshall, it's becoming apparent that the Jaeger's are no longer a suitable defence" Taylor said coldly, as he met Pentecosts glare with one of his own.

"And what is the council's alternative?" Pentecost growled "To hide behind this ludicrous wall you're building and pray the Kaiju leave us alone?"

"The wall of life is showing significant promise" the representative from Great Britain L. Cole suddenly spoke up "Our experts believe that Godzilla will keep the Kaiju at bay, long before they can breach the wall".

Pentecost was greatly angered by that, far more then perhaps he should have been. The idea of using that disgusting creature to protect humanity ignited a rage in the pit of his stomach. He prepared to voice his opinion on the wall and it's supporters, but Taylor once more began to speak.

"And it is because of this, that we have decided to terminate the Jaeger Program".

* * *

With a loud thump, Serizawa roughly struck the side of the monitor in annoyance. Of course he couldn't have a fully functioning computer, that would clearly be too much to ask for.

The aged doctor leaned back in his chair as he thought about the last five years. The day after Manila, the fire he'd felt a decade ago returned, burning even fiercer then before as Serizawa set to work trying to unravel the mystery that was Godzilla.

Back then, Serizawa's goal had been clear, find a weakness in Godzilla, and help the PPDC destroy the beast once and for all. And yet it wasn't quite as simple as that, at least that was what Serizawa thought.

For starters, everything he knew about Kaiju had time and again proven not to apply to Godzilla, their biologies were so radically different it was clear that they simply were not comparable.

Many scientists had proposed the theory that Godzilla was in fact the Alpha Predator of the Kaiju's home world. That he'd simply slipped through the Breach in pursuit of the smaller Kaiju. It was a nice, perfectly logical theory, but there were several flaws with it that kept Serizawa from putting stock in it.

Namely the main issue Serizawa had with the theory, was it assumed Godzilla did in fact share an origin with the other Kaiju, which ignored the fact that Godzilla had no similar features to the Kaiju aside from their great size.

"Serizawa-Sensei" came a distinctly female voice, breaking the silence, as Serizawa whirled in his chair to face the door.

Mako Mori, Stacker Pentecosts personal assistant stood in the doorway, clipboard in hand "Your roomates are here" she said simply.

Serizawa frowned, with the closing of the Jaeger Program, Pentecost had reached out as far as he could to bring people to what he called Humanities last stronghold. To the rest of the world though it was the Hong Kong Shatterdome.

A consequence of this meant that space was tight, and thus Serizawa was forced to share his laboratory with the only other scientists who'd taken up the offer. A small, excited looking man with gelled hair and an un-tucked white shirt suddenly bounded into the room and instantly made his way towards Serizawa.

"Dr. Serizawa!" he called out with the largest grin the doctor had ever seen on a grown man "So happy to finally meet you!" he declared as he grasped the bewildered Serizawa's hand and furiously shook it.

"Your paper on Kaiju Stem Cells was amazing, the best thing I've ever read, it would put Tolstoy to shame"

"Umm" Serizawa said, unsure of how exactly to deal with this "Thank you?" he finally replied.

"Newton!" Came an agitated British accent from across the spacious lab. Serizawa looked past the squirely fan, and saw a tall, lanky, well kept man, leaning on a walking stick entering the room.

"I've told you not to call me that Herman" he spat at the newcomer, before turning back to Serizawa "I'm Dr. Newton Geiszler, but everyone calls me Newt" he explained, answering a question Serizawa didn't even really want to ask.

"And I've told you to address me by my title!" Herman shot back as he limped his way across the room, to join his fellow scientists. "Herman Gottlieb" he said offering his hand "And might I say what an honour it is to be working alongside you"

Serizawa nervously shook his hand "Thank you doctor" he said politely.

Newt glared daggers at Herman "Dr. Serizawa!" he said, practically shoving Herman out of the way as he moved in front "I wanted to ask your opinions on the Kaiju that attacked Sydney yesterday" he said excitedly.

Serizawa gave him a sympathetic look "I'm sorry doctor" he said "I'm not really involved in that side of things any more".

Newt looked confused, until he saw the flickering monitor behind Serizawa "Oh" he said as realisation struck him "You're working on the big guy?"

"I'm surprised Newton" Herman said with an agitated tone "I thought a Kaiju groupie such as yourself would be all over that thing".

Newt shuffled his feet as he looked down, acting like a schoolboy who'd just received a lecture from a teacher "It's just that I don't think Godzilla's as fascinating as the others is all".

"And why pray tell is that?" Serizawa said with an annoyed tone, much to his own surprise.

"Well, the Kaiju as we know them come in all shapes and sizes, correct? So logically one would assume that they're all different species all under the same family, but the thing that's always confused me is why exactly they are drawn to cities" Newt said as Serizawa and Herman listen intently.

"Now originally we all assumed it was either some kind of hunting and gathering deal, but they don't really seem all that interested in eating people, as much as they are just smashing the place up" Newt continued "Now I want to know why all these drastically different, yet similar creatures all act the same way, Godzilla on the other hand seems like a rather simple puzzle".

Serizawa chuckled "And what is the answer to this puzzle?" he asked, curious as to Newt's response.

"He's the Alpha Predator, he hunts down the other Kaiju of course!" Newt said, still somewhat giddy from meeting his idol.

"Except he does not feed on the remains of the Kaiju" Serizawa pointed out with a smirk "The closest thing he does is drain the radioactive energy from Jaeger cores".

Newt was silent for a few seconds, as he tried to find the right words, but Serizawa continued on.

"The only logical reason for Gojira's attacks would be that he's defending his territory from invaders, in other words the Kaiju and Jaegers" Serizawa reasoned. "But if he's not preying on the other Kaiju, why would he follow them through the Breach?" Newt asked.

Serizawa was silent for a moment, debating if he should reveal his theory or not. He still felt bitter about five years ago, when his father had quashed the report that would have alerted the world to the beasts presence long before Manila.

Ultimately however Serizawa continued on "As you yourself pointed out, Godzilla is totally different from Kaiju that come through the Breach. His greater mass, combined with his staggeringly different appearance and physiology has left me with no other choice, then to conclude that Gojira is not from the same planet as the Kaiju".

"So that would mean he comes from where? Planet X?" Newt joked.

"Doctor Serizawa is trying to tell you that he believes Godzilla was born on this planet" Herman interjected.

Newt looked between the two other scientists "Well...It's an interesting theory Doc" Newt finally said "But how could a creature like this be born here?"

Serizawa grinned "Gentlemen, if you'd like to turn your attention here" he said as he whirled in his chair, and once more struck the damaged monitor.

This time it worked, and the display immediately became crystal clear, as Serizawa pulled up a file "In 1954, Dr. Kyohei Yamane discovered what he claimed to be the fossilised femur of a massive creature just off the coast of Japan" he explained.

"There was a great amount of debate at the time of the veracity of this claim, Palaeontologists from around the world flocked to the site to try and verify Yamane's claims, but nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean around that time prevented any further study. Eventually the discovery was forgotten about and people moved on".

Serizawa closed down the file, and opened another one, this time containing not only a wall of text, but a few black and white pictures.

"Believe it or not, the case of Wyrm Ravager was not the only machine to go missing in the Odo Island area, which as you can see from this chart, is very close to the nuclear testing site" Serizawa said, the other two captivated by his story.

"Shortly after the first test, a fishing boat went missing, everyone assumed they'd simply wandered too close to the blast, but in 1956, an American warship capsized with only three survivors, all of which claim their ship ran aground on a mountain that rose out of the sea".

"So what" Newt finally said "You think Godzilla is what...A lizard mutated by the bomb testing?" he ventured.

"Not exactly, I think Gojira is a dinosaur" Even Serizawa knew how ridiculous this last part sounded, but he was so convinced by this theory that he just had to share it with someone "I believe that Gojira walked the Earth during a time when radiation was abundant in the atmosphere and at some point retreated below ground and became dormant, until these bomb tests awoke him"

Newt and Herman were silent as Serizawa continued "How else do you explain why Gojira feeds on radioactive material? Or how he's somehow outputting and manipulating atomic radiation into this breath weapon of his? He's something both natural and yet unnatural, a product of nature as much as he is a product of man".

Serizawa finally stopped as he looked into both scientists eyes, and much to his dismay, he saw the doubt in them "As I said, this is only a theory" he finally admitted, as he turned away from the monitor.

Newt was about to say something, but a new voice broke the silence before he could.

"And this is where we keep our best and brightest" Stacker Pentecost said as he came in through the door, accompanied by Mako Mori and a oddly familiar male.

"Raleigh Becket, this is my science division, Doctors Serizawa, Geiszler and Gottlieb".

Raleigh waved politely, but clearly not quite knowing what to say, Newt however welcomed the sudden audience.

"Glad you're here Marshall" he said cheerily as he walked over to a nearby trolley, covered in a tarpaulin.

Pushing the trolley into the centre of the room, Newt ripped off the cloth, to reveal a pair of identical samples of blue-ish flesh "Now that I've got your attention" he began as he explained his theory on the Kaiju.

Serizawa was impressed, although he had noticed the genetic similarities between the Kaiju, he'd never once entertained the notion that they were clones. Of course that opened a whole new can of worms, namely did this mean they reproduced asexually?

However, the most shocking part was yet to come, forewarned by Herman leaning towards Serizawa and Pentecost and whispering "And this is when he goes completely crazy"

Newt didn't even get to finish his proposal before Serizawa interjected "Absolutely not! The feedback alone could kill you, never mind the strain of connecting to something so massive! Do you have any idea how many neurons the average Kaiju brain carries?!"

"I'm not talking about drifting with a whole Kaiju, just a tiny portion of it's brain"

Serizawa was about to complain more, tell him exactly why his plan to drift with a Kaiju was as stupid as it was moronic, when suddenly a technician came in "Doctor Serizawa! Councilman Serizawa's on line one for you".

There was silence as Serizawa looked blankly at the technician, he'd not spoken to his father since that day in his office five years ago, something that was entirely intentional on Ishiro's part.

However, if his father was contacting him, it must have been something of vital importance. Putting aside his almost Freudian feud with his father for the moment, Serizawa sighed "Excuse me" he said, bowing politely, before leaving.

* * *

The view screen flared to life, as Ishiro saw that same weathered, old face he'd come to resent "Ishiro" his father greeted, adjusting his eye patch.

"Councilman" came Ishiro's cold reply.

The elder Serizawa sighed as he tried to find the right words "What do you want?" Ishiro snapped "I have work to do".

"I want you to leave Hong Kong" the councilman finally said.

"Why?! This is the last Shatterdome, the only place I can continue my research" Ishiro said.

"It's a sinking ship that Pentecost is desperately clinging too" Daisuke said with an agitated tone. It was strange seeing his father so emotional, but Ishiro put it out of his mind.

"So you expect me to travel inland, huddle up behind the wall and wait until the Kaiju batter it down and destroy us?"

"No, I expect you to do as you wish, but I would not be able to look myself in the eye if I did not try to save you" Daisuke suddenly said.

Ishiro looked into the singular eye of his father as the pair gazed into each others souls "My place is here, studying these monsters and helping the PPDC defend humanity"

Daisuke was silent as he observed his son "Is it truly about humanity?" he asked "Or do you stay because of Gojira?"

"Both" came Ishiro's sharp reply.

Daisuke glared down the monitor "Every time I try to assist you, you throw it back in my face!" he snarled "Very well, stay in Hong Kong, and chase your fantasy, but when the world falls to chaos, remember I tried to help". He snapped.

"Help me, like you did when you censored my report? I seem to remember I theorised about the existence of a creature very much like Gojira himself" Ishiro spat venomously.

Daisuke growled "Good day, Doctor" he snarled as the transmission terminated.

Ishiro stood alone in the darkened room, the rage boiling inside him. He knew it was a bad idea to take this call, but he stupidly thought it was something important.

Eventually his mind began to wander amidst the violent storm of anger.

Strangely enough, rather then his father, he found himself thinking about Godzilla. Assuming his theory was correct and Godzilla was in fact an irradiated dinosaur, what must it be like? To awaken after millions of years of slumber and find the world totally changed?

On the one hand, Godzilla terrified him, he was a beast of unimaginable power who'd decimated mankind's final hope against the onslaught of Kaiju. But on the other hand, there did not seem to be any malicious intent, he was merely an animal, defending his territory from those that threatened it.

Serizawa sighed, that had been the source of a heated argument between himself and Pentecost. The Marshall stubbornly viewed all Kaiju as evil, sinister creatures who had to die. While Serizawa could not help but feel sympathetic towards the dinosaur.

What must it be like to be totally alone in the world? Did he even know that he was the last of his kind?

These were questions Serizawa knew he would never find out the answer for. Just like how he knew he would never truly understand this magnificent animal. The doctor caught himself, he'd described this enemy of mankind as magnificent, if Pentecost heard him...Well Serizawa tried not to think about that.

Sighing again, Serizawa prepared himself to get back to work, just because they were on the verge of Armageddon, didn't mean that he had any less work to do.


	7. Chapter 6: The Last Days of War

The Hong Kong Shatterdome's cafeteria was always bustling with activity. It wasn't surprising given that the base employed several hundred men and women, working night and day, repairing and outfitting the Jaeger's and the dome's systems.

However, one of the perks of being a Jaeger pilot meant you could always get a table. A fact which Chuck Hansen exploited to his advantage. With a slight hand movement, the technicians huddled, eating their food, shifted as far away as they could, allowing Chuck and his father to sit down.

"Thank you" Herc said politely, sending a nod towards the group. A nicety that his son unfortunately chose not to mimic. Herc sighed, Chuck was so much like Scott it was unnerving, both of them were cocky and arrogant and in desperate need of being taken down a peg. Granted, Chuck would never, ever betray the PPDC or Herc in the same way Scott had, but it was still a fact Herc could not simply ignore.

He girded himself, and prepared to finally put his son in his place, when much to Herc's relief, he saw Doctor Serizawa enter the large hall. With a quick call and a wave, Herc beckoned the good doctor over "Good to see you again doctor" Herc said, as he moved over enough to give Serizawa room to sit.

Serizawa nodded politely "Likewise Mr. Hansen" he said simply as he sat down.

"See here boy, Dr. Serizawa is the world's foremost expert on Kaiju" Herc told his extremely disinterested son.

"Thank you for the kind words, but I'm afraid that title probably suits Dr. Geiszler more than me these days"

Herc titled his head "Ah yes, that's right, I'd heard you been put in charge of researching Godzilla, which is something I've been meaning to ask you. What exactly can you tell us about him?"

At that, Chuck suddenly became a lot more interested in this line of questioning, but before he could speak, his father turned again, and beckoned for someone else to come over. "Come over here Becket, got a place for you, I think you'll like our topic" he said with a grin.

Raleigh Becket strode over, food tray in hand "What's up?" he asked, casually taking the place beside Serizawa.

"I don't think you two ever met, but the three of us were all part of the Manila operation" Herc explained, as Serizawa and Raleigh exchanged greetings.

"I'm sorry for your loss" Serizawa said sympathetically.

"Thanks" Raleigh replied somewhat nervously, he tried his best not to think too much on the incident with his brother four years ago.

"I was just asking the doc about our old friend" Herc explained, trying to change the subject to anything except family.

"I'm afraid there's not really much I can tell you" Serizawa half lied. He didn't want to tell them anything beyond the base facts. "I can tell you he's one hundred metres tall, and weighs approximately nine and a half thousand metric tons" the doctor explained "He feeds on radiation and converts it into a weapon that's being referred to by the PPDC as Atomic Breath and he's extremely aggressive, everything beyond that is entirely conjecture".

"So there's no ideas behind his origins?" Raleigh said, somewhat suspiciously.

"A few" Serizawa countered "But none with any substantial note" Even with the mountain of paperwork and documentation at the lab, Serizawa had been unable to convince Newt and Herman on his theory, so his hesitance to share wasn't unjustified.

"Who cares where it comes from?" Chuck suddenly spoke up, clearly bored of the conversation "That overgrown iguana's lucked out by fighting old model Jaegers and mediocre pilots, if it came up against me and the old man in the Striker, it wouldn't stand a chance."

Serizawa's eyes narrowed. There was no denying the power of the world's first and last MK-V Jaeger Striker Eureka, but the young Hansen's arrogance was infuriating.

Raleigh glared at Chuck, the crack about inferior pilots and Jaegers hit a sore spot. "You've never gone against Godzilla, have you?" he growled as Chuck shook his head, sending a glare towards the American "Well trust me when I tell you that it's better that way, far better pilots then you have gone against him and lost" Raleigh snapped.

Chuck shifted closer to Raleigh, practically shoving his father and Serizawa out of the way "A washed up failure like you doesn't have the right to talk to me like that" the Australian shot back with an almost feral rage.

The two hot headed young men were ready to rip into each other, when Herc intervened, pushing Chuck back "Enough!" he shouted "In case you two weren't aware, there's an army of monsters hell bent on killing us, we don't need to make their job any easier" the elder Hansen scolded.

Chuck and Raleigh continued to glare, clearly this little war of theirs wasn't over. Chuck stood up and began to storm away "Whatever, just don't slow me down Raleigh" he growled, putting emphasis on his name "If you screw up the mission, I'll feed you to Godzilla myself" and with that he left.

Herc sighed and looked down at his food, his appetite suddenly disappearing "I don't know what to do with that boy sometimes" he muttered mostly to himself.

"The mission he mentioned" Serizawa said, trying to change the topic "I assume that's the attack on the Breach the Marshall's been talking about?" he asked.

"Yeah" Herc finally said "Operation: Destroy All Monsters I think the techies are calling it" he chuckled sourly "They're gonna strap a thermonuclear device to Striker Eureka and have us drop it into the Breach to try and close it".

Serizawa thought for a minute, obviously the PPDC had tried directly hitting the Breach in the past, but their weapons had merely been blocked by some unseen force surrounding the portal, not even unmanned probes could get near it.

"If you'll excuse me, I've got to go and meet my new co-pilot" Raleigh said "You can come see Gipsy's test if you guys want, it's scheduled to begin in about an hour".

"Yeah sure, we'll be there, just let us old men finish our food" Herc said, giving Raleigh a cursory nod as the younger man left.

There was an awkward silence between Serizawa and Herc as they quietly ate their food. Herc shuffled in his seat as if he had something he wanted to say, but couldn't quite find the words.

"Godzilla's not from the Breach, is he?" he finally said, much to Serizawa's surprise.

Serizawa was silent as he thought about how he should respond to this sudden question, dare he risk telling this Jaeger pilot his theory?

"I've fought a lot of Kaiju, doctor, and I do mean a lot" Herc continued "But Godzilla is different. We only fought once but...I dunno"

There was silence again, but this time Serizawa broke it "They say warriors can understand one another through battling, far more then they can through words" he mused "But to answer your question Mr. Hansen, no I don't think Gojira came from the same world as the other Kaiju, I believe he was born here".

Serizawa took in breath, and slowly he began to explain his theory, his reasoning and all the evidence pointing towards his inevitable conclusion. Herc listened calmly, never once asked a question or interrupted Serizawa until he'd finished his tale.

Finally when it was concluded, Herc leaned back and sighed. "In a way, I'm relieved" he said "He's the toughest enemy I've ever gone against, and I'd hate to think there's an entire species of him on the other side of the Breach just waiting to come get us".

"I'm surprised you're so on board with this" Serizawa observed, to which Herc just laughed at.

"Maybe there's a part of me that wants it to be true, because it's proud that Earth has a protector like him on it's side" he said.

Serizawa's eyes widened "A protector?" he said confusedly.

"Well you said yourself, he's defending his territory, he's not killing the Kaiju to eat them, and he's certainly not attacking cities in his spare time. Maybe I'm just an old fool, but I'd like to think he's like us, willing to fight until the last breath to protect the planet"

Serizawa smiled "I'd like to think that too" he said somewhat happily.

"We can never tell this to Stacker though" Herc laughed "He'd never buy it".

"Oh yes, I'm well aware of the Marshall and his vendetta" Serizawa replied.

"I can't blame him though" Herc said solemnly "When I lost my family, I hated the Kaiju just as much as him, and I've had almost a decade to get my revenge, while he got sidelined and promoted pretty quickly".

There was another awkward silence between the two "Well, guess we'd better go and see how the kid's fairing" Herc said as he stood up, with Serizawa following suit. "It's kind of nostalgic" Herc pointed out as the pair of them began to walk to the command centre "All of us gathered together, preparing for a massive multi-Jaeger operation, let's hope history doesn't repeat itself too much".

Serizawa merely nodded in response as the two left the cafeteria, and trekked through the steel corridors.

* * *

Newt mumbled angrily to himself as he plugged the metre long cable into the socket. The irritated scientist shielded his eyes as sparks erupted from the connection, that was probably a good sign, or at least he hoped it was.

By rights Newt should have had an army of lackeys setting all this up, but alas his genius plan to initiate a drift with the salvaged remains of a Kaiju's brain had been shot down, not only by Marshall Pentecost, but Doctor Serizawa himself.

Instead of his actual research, with actual evidence and actual results, they'd instead decided to go along with Herman's stupid, theoretical numerical nonsense.

So here he was, determined to prove his own genius, and Herman's inferiority by going ahead with his plan. In the back of Newt's mind, there was a niggling doubt, a fear that Serizawa's warnings were true, and he was going to kill himself.

However, the prospect of driving everyone else mad with guilt if he died outweighed Newt's own sense of self-preservation, and thus he began to input the programs into the computer.

Newt adjusted the straps as he placed the transmitter over his scalp while the systems started to run. Newt was almost past the point of no return, when once more doubt crept its way into his mind.

His hand hovered over the keyboard, just above the switch to initiate the program. He wondered if this was really the right way to go about it, maybe he should try and convince everyone else once more?

But, the memory of the Marshall's rejection was still fresh in his mind as apprehension gave way to a steadfast determination.

And so, with one final gulp of air, Newt hit the switch.

* * *

"All systems are green" Tendo Choi said as he worked the computer before him.

Pentecost stared at the great steel form of Gipsy Danger through the viewscreens. The MK-III had been all but crippled five years ago in a fierce battle with the Kaiju known as Knifehead. A battle that had cost Yancy Becket his life, and sent Raleigh into a self imposed exile from the Jaeger program.

"Very good" Stacker said simply. Although he hid it well, this was an extremely nerve racking experience for the Marshall.

Mako Mori, his adopted daughter, turned personal assistant, had been given permission to become the new co-pilot for Gipsy Danger, a decision Stacker was still not sure about.

He still sometimes thought of her as the crying toddler cradling a red shoe through the devastated remains of Tokyo. Although it wasn't out of a paternal sense of protection that he'd tried to block Mako's development.

Mako had suffered a horribly traumatic experience thanks to the Category II Kaiju Onibaba killing all her friends and family, and robbing the young woman of her birthplace. Quite understandably this had left Mako feelings of intense anger and hatred towards the Kaiju, but so great were these feelings, Stacker worried they'd cloud her judgement and threaten the stability of the Drift.

"Engaging Neural Handshake" Tendo said calmly as Gipsy slowly came to life and began to move. As the titanic machine began to move it's arms experimentally, Serizawa and Herc entered the command centre.

"How're they doing?" Herc asked as he took up position beside Pentecost.

"Link's been established and it's going strong" Tendo said happily "Looks like the old girl's back" There was a shared moment of relief throughout the entire area, however that quickly vanished when Herman Gottlieb's frantic hobbling and yelling resounded throughout the room.

"Marshall!" he cried out desperately "Newton's...He's..." he tried to say between gasps for breath.

* * *

Serizawa and Pentecost burst into the laboratory at breakneck speed, Herman not too far behind, as the pair made their way to the shaking figure of Newt, who was propped up against some equipment. A trail of dried blood leaked out of the scientists nostril, as he looked up at the newcomers. His right eye red.

"My god" Serizawa said as he leaned down to get a closer look "You imbecile, you could have been killed" the doctor said as he tried to assess the scope of the damage. While he wasn't a medical doctor, Serizawa at least had a basic knowledge of first aid.

"I...I...I saw..." Newt stuttered, still shaking uncontrollably "The Kaiju...They're clones!" he finally managed to sputter out.

Pentecost eyes narrowed "What?" he said disbelievingly.

"Help me get him to the sick bay" Serizawa said, as he moved to pick up Newt, but Pentecost pushed him away.

"What else did you see Dr. Geizsler?" he said commandingly.

"Are you insane?!" Serizawa snapped "He's in no fit shape for an interrogation".

But Pentecost ignored him, and gently grabbed Newt's face, locking their eyes together "Tell me" he said simply.

"I didn't see much, just flashes and fragments" Newt admitted, finding his voice "But there were these masters, who were growing the Kaiju, breeding them, all for the purpose of invasion" the scientist said "They're colonists, they go from world to world, destroying the indigenous life and terraforming the planet to suit their needs".

Suddenly Newt looked up at the concerned Serizawa "You were right doc" he sobbed "You were right"

Serizawa leaned down, trying to get past Pentecost "It's all right Newton" he said "We'll get you to a doctor, and you'll be fine".

However Newt shook away from Serizawa's grasp "No! You were right about Godzilla!" he yelled frantically.

Pentecost's eyes went wide as he slowly turned towards Serizawa, while Newt continued to speak "These aliens...They tried to colonise Earth before, millions of years ago, but their forces were decimated by the wildlife." he said shaking "I saw memories of them fighting creatures that looked exactly like Godzilla...Your theory was right" he said once more.

Pentecost continued to stare at Serizawa, a quiet rage building up behind his brown eyes. But at the last minute, he turned back to Newt "Could you do it again?" he asked simply.

"Wh-What?" Newt said disbelievingly.

"Could you Drift with a Kaiju again? We need more information" Pentecost responded coldly.

"Well...I guess if I had a more intact brain I could...But we don't have one of those lying around..." Newt said, but slowly realisation dawned on him as Pentecost remained silent "...Do we?"

Serizawa looked on silently as Pentecost gave Newt directions to a black market dealer by the name of Hannibal Chau, stationed somewhere in Hong Kong.

Apparently, in order to procure funds for the Jaeger program, Pentecost had made a deal with the Kaiju organ trade, giving them exclusive rights to harvest the corpses.

Of course Serizawa was aware of the black market, and there'd long been rumours of the PPDC making deals, but to find out Stacker Pentecost himself had done it was a jarring experience.

Pentecost handed Newt a piece of paper and a UV torch, before sending the young scientist on his way, with Herman being ordered to return to the command centre. Finally leaving Pentecost and Serizawa alone in the lab.

"You could very well be killing him" Serizawa spat angrily "If you'd just give him time to get checked over"

"Time is a luxury we don't have" Pentecost snarled "In case you haven't noticed, we are on the verge of judgement day, and if Dr. Gottlieb's predictions are accurate, we will see a double event any day now".

"So the ends justify the means?" Serizawa shot back, his rage burning hot.

Pentecost was silent for a moment, until finally he spoke "What did Geizsler mean when he said your theory was correct?" he asked calmly.

Now it was Serizawa's turn for silence as he thought of the best way to answer that question. "Nothing important" he said defensively.

Pentecost glared as he loomed over the doctor "That monster has destroyed enough Jaeger's to bring the entire PPDC to it's knees, and you've been withholding information on it from me?" he growled.

Serizawa however was not intimidated, and did not back down "I was waiting for something more concrete before I presented anything to you" he snapped back "It's not as if knowing Gojira is a creature born of this planet will change your plans for him".

"You're right, nothing has changed." Pentecost shot back "I still plan to slaughter it, regardless of where it came from. My problem however is that, who knows what else you're withholding from me about it"

The tension was so thick you could cut it, as the two men glared hatefully into each others eyes.

Thankfully, before it could devolve any more, a technician burst into the room "Sirs!" he said desperately "There's been an incident with Gipsy Danger!"

* * *

Herc stood quietly in the corner of Stacker's office as he watched the Marshall tear into Mako and Raleigh.

"I warned you!" he growled "I told you time and time again, and now look what's happened"

Mako stood before the Marshall, tears of shame welling in her eyes, she was trying to find the right words to say, but Pentecost was not giving her an opening to talk.

As he continued to berate the pair for their almost lethal mistake, Herc finally stepped in "Ms. Mori, Mr. Becket, could you please step outside for a moment?" He asked pleasantly "I'd like to have a few words with the Marshall"

The two quite possibly former Jaeger pilots nodded solemnly and stepped outside and shut the door behind them.

"You're being too hard on them" Herc flat out told his old friend.

"I think considering the circumstances, I'm being rather lenient" Pentecost fired back, it was clear a great many things had happened today to anger the Marshall.

"Mistakes happen, I'm not saying they shouldn't be reprimanded, but as you keep saying, we're in desperate times Stacker, and we can't just throw away a potential asset because of a hiccup" Herc replied, almost immediately regretting his choice of words.

"A hiccup?!" Stacker said, almost not believing what he was hearing "They very well could have killed over a hundred people if Mr. Choi hadn't of shut them down, as far as I'm concerned those two are a liability we can't afford" he snarled.

"She's far tougher then you think she is" Herc struck back "I'm sure if we give her a second chance, now that she's experienced chasing the rabbit first hand, she'll be fine".

"I cannot put the fate of humanity in the hands of those two, if we had more time then maybe I'd be more inclined to listen to you, but according to Dr. Gottlieb a double event will happen at any time, if we're going to close the Breach, it has to be now!"

The two veterans were silent for a moment. Herc prepared to respond, but a loud bang from outside the room, followed by gratuitous swearing distracted both men.

* * *

Newt's breath hitched as he watched the bookcase fold into the wall. Secret doors were so cool! He really, really wanted to know how someone went about installing them. Was there some kind of special contractor you could call?

But his wonderment over the door soon enough gave way when he saw what was going on inside the hidden room. A gang of workers, dressed in sterile white gear, working on all the Kaiju parts you could ever want. The feeling that filled Newt reminded him of Christmas, if Christmas was also the same day as your birthday and your parents let you have double the presents.

With childlike glee, Newt ran around the room, looking over the various tables and the people working on them. He was clearly in the wrong profession. However, the sound of someone clearing their throat drew the scientists attention. Newt turned to see a tall man, in gold plated boots, and a bright red suit standing before him.

"I hear you're looking for Hannibal Chau" he said calmly, adjusting his sunglasses. The man just oozed cool, practically radiated it, like, the area around him was somehow made more awesome just by his presence alone.

"Yeah" Newt said dumbfounded "Are you...?"

"Like the name?" the man said with a smirk "I took it from my first favourite historical general, and my second favourite Chinese joint. So what can I do for you?" he asked.

Newt was silent as he gathered his thoughts, finally deciding to just tell him, what was the worst that could happen?

* * *

Tendo held the doughnut in his mouth as he carried two cups of coffee over to his work station. The incident earlier with Gipsy had shaken him somewhat, all he planned to do now was sit back, relax and settle in for the night shift.

That had been the plan, but as with many plans, it was quickly derailed as the various instruments came to life.

Placing his coffee down, Tendo sat back in his chair and began to type, trying to get more information on what was going on. To his horror, two very different readings flashed across the screen. Their worst fears had been realised, two Kaiju had exited the Breach and were making a beeline straight for Hong Kong.

Tendo swallowed hard as he activated the comms system for the Shatterdome and composed himself.

"Two Category IV Kaiju have left the Breach and are on their way" he said solemnly "It's a Double Event" he finished as he went about preparing the Jaeger's for launch.

He hoped to whatever deity was out there that it was only two Kaiju they had to worry about.


	8. Chapter 7: Monster Amongst Monsters

The steel cocoon of the conn-pod shook with every gigantic step Striker Eureka took. The Hansen boys watched on the main monitor as the MK-I Jaeger Cherno Alpha impacted the once still waters of Hong Kong's bay.

The green colossus smashed it's massive fists together in anticipation of the coming battle, as a little ahead of it the MK-IV Jaeger Crimson Typhoon touched down.

"This is crap" Chuck snarled to his father "We should be spearheading".

"Striker's the one who's dropping the payload into the Breach" Herc reminded his impetuous son "We can't risk her getting destroyed". In truth Herc agreed wholeheartedly with Chuck. The ex-RAAF pilot would have preferred to be at the forefront of the fight, not only out of his own sense of pride, but concern for his fellow rangers.

Cherno and Crimson's pilots obviously had great skill, and Herc was not underestimating them. But Herc had the most successful combat drops of all seven pilots deployed right now, it just seemed more logical to have him take charge. Still though, he wasn't about to openly question the Marshall's orders. All he could do was stand on the sidelines and watch through the main monitor as the water in front of Crimson Typhoon exploded upwards.

* * *

Tendo Choi watched as the massive red machine wrestled with the long, thin form of the Category IV Kaiju known as Otachi. The reptilian creature slashed wildly with it's forelegs and prehensile tail, trying to throw Typhoon off, however, the MK-III had it's ace in the hole, the famed Thundercloud Formation, accessible only through the three-way drift the Wei Tang triplets used. Crimson Typhoon's three hands folded away, revealing triplicate revolving saw blades, which it used to slash at the beast.

Otachi gave a pain filled shriek as it's luminescent blood trickled down into the ocean below. However, this did not trouble the serpentine creature for long as it's powerful jaws snapped wildly at Crimson Typhoon, closing firmly around one of the machine's three arms. The pair continued to struggle, both trying to free themselves from the others grasp, as Ishiro Serizawa watched on intently.

"Something isn't right" he muttered "The second Kaiju isn't doing anything" and certainly this seemed to be the case. The second Kaiju, another Category IV known as Leatherback, was hiding just below the water's surface. This was troubling for two reasons, number one it discounted the theory many had suggested that all Kaiju were extremely territorial and aggressive, and number two, it implied that there was some level of tactical thinking at work here.

"Get Crimson Typhoon out of there!" Serizawa hissed.

However, the doctor's order came too late, as a second titanic figure burst from the sea behind Crimson Typhoon, and started to smash at the machine with it's humongous arms. Within seconds, the MK-IV Jaeger was finished, as it's lifeless frame dropped into the ocean, the new attacker crushing the conn-pod for good measure. The last screams of the Wei brothers filled the otherwise silent command centre, as the two Kaiju tore into the remains of Crimson Typhoon.

"Striker Eureka!" Pentecost barked "Move up and take position along side Cherno!".

"With pleasure" was Herc Hansen's reply as the MK-V Jaeger began to power through the bay towards it's comrade.

Striker was often called the fastest Jaeger ever made, and right now the Hansen boys were proving exactly why. Striker Eureka's bright silver armour glistened in the moonlight, as it carved it's way onwards, moving through the water effortlessly while Cherno Alpha fell back towards their position. It was somewhat reassuring to Herc to feel how much anger was burning within Chuck over Crimson Typhoon's destruction. For all that pride and arrogance, he was a genuinely good kid who had utmost respect for most of the rangers.

The slow, lumbering form of Cherno Alpha finally came to a stop, as Striker Eureka moved up to stand side by side with it's older counterpart.

Otachi and Leatherback turned way from the decimated corpse of Crimson Typhoon, and snarled menacingly at their foes. The four colossi glared at each other for a moment, each pair sizing the other up.

"We'll take the big one" came the rough, accented voice of Lieutenant Aleksis Kaidonovsky, one of the pilot's of Cherno. Suddenly Cherno dashed forward, or at least, it lumbered as fast as it could towards the equally bulky shape of Leatherback.

With an impact so loud, it resounded all the way back to the Shatterdome, Cherno punched Leatherback with all of it's might. The Kaiju staggered back, and shook it's head fiercely, before swinging it's own massive limb, and hitting Cherno back.

As the two juggernauts matched each other blow for blow, Otachi hissed loudly and made it's move. The long, serpentine-like Kaiju began to dart through the water, intent on aiding it's companion. However the Category IV soon found itself being knocked across the water by a swift kick from Striker Eureka.

Otachi skidded to a halt as it glared up at the silver centurion. Letting out a piercing shriek, Otachi leapt into the air and stretched out it's claws, intent on tearing into Striker. However the Australian made mech effortlessly caught Otachi mid-flight, and swung it down back into the water, repeatedly punching the creature in the back of the head.

As Striker relentlessly attacked the downed Kaiju, Herc risked a cursory glance over towards Cherno Alpha. The MK-I and Leatherback were still locked in their own personal slug fest, although it was clear that Cherno was taking far more damage from the brawl then it's monstrous counterpart was.

Suddenly, the radio flared to life as Tendo's voice reverberated throughout the conn-pod "Bad news" he said grimly "You've got an uninvited guest closing in on the bay"

Herc was silent for a moment, he knew exactly who, or rather what, was bearing down on their position "How long till he gets here?"

"I'd say ten minutes if we're lucky" came the quick reply.

So lost in thought about this latest revelation was he, that Herc almost missed Otachi's tail swiping up towards Striker's head. Luckily Chuck was on the ball, and in one swift movement, the MK-V captured the appendage. The claw-like tip of Otachi's tail snapped furiously, Striker's conn-pod was just ever so slightly out of reach, a fact which seemed to enrage the Kaiju as it struggled to overpower the machine.

Gripping onto the tail tightly with both hands, the Hansen boys strained in their harnesses as Striker began to shift it's weight. Finally, with an almighty swing, Otachi was lifted off the ground and into the air, as Striker hurled in back towards the open sea, away from the city. With a crash Otachi hit the water, sending a cloud of foam high into the air as the resistance from the water brought it to a stop. Taking this moment of repreive to catch their breath, the Hansen's allowed themselves another quick look at Cherno's battle.

The older Jaeger wasn't fairing well, it's armour was dented and broken, with the inner circuitry exposed in a few places while in contrast, Leatherback seemed mostly unharmed. Another powerful punch from the Kaiju knocked the MK-I down with ease, sending it down to the water. The Category IV roared triumphantly as it prepared to deliver the final blow, an overhead smash from it's humoungous arms, when suddenly, a massive form tackled it.

Leatherback was knocked away, staggering away from Cherno and Striker Eureka, and towards the recovering Otachi. Cherno Alpha slowly pulled itself back up onto it's feet, as the Jaeger's prepared for round two. However the Kaiju seemed preoccupied. Otachi and Leatherback twisted their heads around and pricked up their ears, hearing something the pilots could no in the distance. Otachi hissed at it's larger companion, eliciting an annoyed grunt from Leatherback.

The ape-like monstrosity smashed it's giant arms into the water, and let out a howl as sparks of electricity began to arc across it's back. The pilots barely had time to register what was going on before the attack was launched. With a noise not unlike that of a thunderclap, Leatherback released all the energy it had stored, and all of a sudden, Herc's world went black.

"An EMP strike?!" Pentecost snarled as Tendo and his subordinates worked feverishly in the blackened command room.

"Further evidence for Dr. Geiszler's claims" Serizawa mused "Evidently our enemies have been plotting to counter our tactics".

Pentecost growled furiously as he moved over towards Tendo "How long until you can bring the Jaeger's back online?"

"Well assuming the blast didn't fry all of their circuits, maybe we could bring Striker back online in forty minutes, if we could get a team out there" Tendo replied with a frustrated tone "We're only just now getting the backup generators online, and who knows if the helicopters systems weren't trashed"

Pentecost scowled as slowly the lights came back on all throughout the Shatterdome. It'd take a while before all systems were up and running, meaning the two Jaeger's out there were at the mercy of the Kaiju.

Tendo's computer flared to life as the officer worked the keyboard at mach speed. However, within moments the fiery fervour left him "Sir...The Kaiju are moving for the city!"

"What?!" Stacker said "What about the Jaeger's?"

"They're still offline, but the Kaiju are just ignoring them, it's like they're..." Slowly a realization came over Tendo, as he worked on the restored computer again "They're leaving them behind for Godzilla" he said solemnly.

Stacker slammed his hand roughly onto the desk "Is there nothing we can do?" he asked.

"Sir, you could launch Gipsy" came a new voice.

Pentecost turned to see Raleigh Beckett and Mako Mori standing in the doorway "Gipsy's still in the launch bay powered down, her systems probably got through the blast" Tendo reasoned.

Stacker looked between Tendo and the pilots of Gipsy Danger as he tried to make a decision. Finally however, he spoke "Very well...The two of you go get suited up now!" he ordered.

The pair grinned as they ran off at top speed. Tendo however groaned loudly suddenly "Damn it, the hanger bay door's been fried, we've gotta try and open in manually"

"And how long would that take?" Pentecost questioned, his fowl mood seeping into his voice.

"Too long" came Tendo's response.

Pentecost seethed, and seemed prepared to blow like a volcano, but someone else spoke up "If I might make a point" Serizawa began "I believe Gojira is the answer here".

The Marshall glared furiously at the doctor "I'm not in the mood for this Serizawa" he warned, but the scientist continued on.

"Gojira is here because of the Kaiju, he will attack them first, giving you plenty of time to retrieve your forces" he reasoned.

"It's certainly probable" Herman chimed in "Godzilla has shown a tendency to prioritise killing Kaiju over fighting the Jaeger's" he mused.

"I cannot believe I'm hearing this." Pentecost began "You're asking me to entrust the safety of millions of lives to this monster?!" this time the Marshall wasn't even trying to hide the rage in his voice.

"I'm not asking anything" Serizawa responded calmly "I'm merely stating your only option".

* * *

"It's no use" Herc snarled as he roughly smacked a console "Everything's dead".

"God damn it, so we're sitting ducks" Chuck spat as he pulled off his helmet.

"Yeah" Herc said "Totally defenceless...So why didn't they finish us off?" he wondered aloud.

"Are you seriously complaining about not being dead?" Chuck asked, as he fidgeted in his harness.

"It just doesn't make sense, why cripple us, then leave?".

Chuck was about to say something, but a sudden jolt shook the entire conn-pod. Were it not for the harnesses, one of them would most assuredly been injured. The Hansen's turned in unison to gaze out through Striker's eyes. To their unified horror a form that still haunted Herc to this day slowly moved towards them.

"Oh..." the ex-RAAF pilot said calmly "I get it now, they left us here to distract him. He can't fight them if he's chowing down on us"

The Australian born men watched as the towering, imposing figure of Godzilla came ever closer. Each footfall sending shock waves through the water that shook Striker to it's core. Finally, the mighty monster stood before Striker, charcoal scales glinting in the moonlight. Godzilla sniffed the air around Striker as it observed the immobile Jaeger with curiosity. The dinosaur leaned his head down, bringing himself eye level with the MK-V.

Herc froze as he stared into the piercing yellow eyes of the beast. He kind of figured this was how he'd die, he just wished he could somehow save his son.

The gigantic maw of Godzilla's mouth opened, revealing rows of razor sharp fangs. Godzilla seemed to tense his muscles, preparing to strike, when at the last minute, an explosion echoed out around them. Godzilla turned away from Striker and stared at the partially destroyed city. The sounds of Otachi and Leatherback's rampage resounded around the bay, as fires swayed around the buildings.

A low growl from Godzilla reverberated throughout Striker's conn-pod, and as once more, his thunderous foot steps shook the area.

* * *

Newt desperately dodged and weaved his way through the panicking crowds. He hated that Hannibal Chau guy for just kicking him out onto the streets, it wasn't his fault there was a Kaiju attack!

Okay actually maybe it was his fault, Chau had made a good point about the Drift being a two way connection, but still, he was being a jerk about it.

Newt sighed as he narrowly avoided being trampled, all he had to do was make it to one of the public shelters and everything would be fine. The scientist raced onwards, approaching a four way junction and prepared to turn right with the rest of the crowd.

And suddenly the once powerful river of people came to a shuddering halt. Screams filled the air as the flow reversed and the citizens came stampeding back the way they didn't take long for Newt to understand what was going on, as a gigantic figure came into view at the end of the street. It's long, whip-like tail waved above the buildings, as the Kaiju let out a vicious roar.

Newt ran as fast and as hard as he could, outpacing a large majority of the crowd as they sought safety at the other end of the street. Unfortunately, there was nothing safe about where they were going as a second monstrosity burst through a building and blocked their means of escape. The Kaiju groupie found himself frozen in fear as he gazed up at the massive, bulky behemoth standing at the end of road. He heard the high pitched roars of the first Kaiju behind him as the two monsters slowly made their way towards one another, with Newt right in the centre.

He cursed his earlier desire to see these creatures up close. An old phrase about being careful what you wish for danced across the edges of his consciousness as Newt's life flashed before his eyes.

A new sound shook Newt out of his paralysis. A roar, far more powerful and imposing then anything the other two Kaiju could muster overpowered the cries of the crowd, and the growls of the monsters.

In a strange moment of unity, Newt, the rest of the crowd and the Kaiju all turned towards the source of the roar. Godzilla came to a halt as he gazed over the ruined buildings to glare at his enemy. Leatherback gave an enraged howl as it pounded the ground furiously while Otachi hissed like a snake and crouched down low, preparing to strike.

There was an eerie serenity as the titanic beasts had their stare down, till finally Leatherback charged. The Kaiju's knuckles dug into the ground as it propelled itself towards Godzilla, moving almost exactly like a gorilla as it bounded over and through buildings.

As the rampaging monstrosity neared it's foe, Leatherback launched into the air, soaring towards Godzilla. In a burst of movement, the charcoal dinosaur turned around and sent his tail on a collision course with Leatherback. The leaping Kaiju could do nothing as the tail impacted it's side with a sickening thud. The Category IV hit the ground hard, decimating a few buildings as it rolled across the ground.

Godzilla loomed over the downed Leatherback and raised his right claw, intent on striking the Kaiiju, however before the dinosaur could do anything, Otachi sprang into action. The lithe monster leapt onto Godzilla and dug it's claws into the beast.

Godzilla roared and stumbled back, surprised by the assault, as Otachi continued to claw and bite the much larger creature. Godzilla shook this way and that, trying to throw Otachi off, but the Kaiju just dug in more. Finally, the charcoal mountain shunted into the side of a skyscraper, trapping Otachi between the building and crushing it with his superior weight. The tower began to crumble around Otachi, forcing the serpent to release Godzilla from it's hold.

Godzilla wasted no time, pulling himself away from the building, just as it collapsed down upon Otachi. The fight wasn't over though, as Leatherback charged towards Godzilla once more. With no time to swing his tail, Godzilla instead moved in to meet the charging ape head on. With a crash the two juggernauts collided as they grappled amidst the high rises of Hong Kong.

Leatherback swung it's mighty fist into Godzilla's snout, pushing the larger monster back as Godzilla let out a snarl. The Category IV swung again, but this time Godzilla stepped back, dodging the blow, which continued flying through the air.

In a burst of movement, Godzilla dived forward, driving his shoulder into Leatherback's exposed neck, and knocking the Kaiju into the side of another skyscraper. Not giving his enemy a chance to recover, Godzilla smashed Leatherback with his arms again, and again, each blow shaking the ruined buildings foundations, and further driving Leatherback through it.

Godzilla took a step back from the dazed Kaiju as he surveyed his handiwork. Leatherback was still alive, just stunned from all the blows, but this was a problem that would soon be remedied. Before the dinosaur could finish off Leatherback, the sound of concrete shattering drew Godzilla's attention. Otachi had pulled itself free from the fallen building, and was glaring hatefully at Godzilla.

Otachi let out another high pitched roar as it opened it's gaping maw. A stream of blue liquid erupted from Otachi's mouth and flew towards the larger beast. Reacting on instinct, Godzilla moved out of the way at the last second, as the liquid splattered all over the building behind him.

With a loud hiss and a cloud of smoke, the acidic spit began to dissolve the concrete and steel at an alarming rate, eating through the building like it was nothing. Godzilla observed the building momentarily, before turning back to Otachi and roaring loudly. At the same time, Leatherback had snapped out of it's daze and pulled itself free. Responding to Godzilla's roar with a less impressive one, Leatherback charged again, all the while Otachi prepared another acidic blast.

It happened in the blink of an eye. Leatherback moved in to strike Godzilla's head as Otachi fired once more. In one fell movement, Godzilla moved into Leatherback's punch, avoiding the majority of the impact, and dug his claws into the smaller monster's sides. Using his strength, Godzilla lifted Leatherback off of the ground and moved him putting it's back in between Godzilla and the acid.

Leatherback howled in pain as the blue liquid burned into the creature's back, destroying it's electrical weapon and severely injuring Leatherback in the process.

Godzilla held onto the wildly thrashing and smouldering Kaiju, as he began to move towards Otachi. Godzilla picked up speed, as his living shield struggled through the pain and tried to break free. Otachi seemed confused as to what to do, it seemed as if it was going to fire another blast of acid, but it paused, as it slowly realised that was not going to be effectual. With an almighty crash, Leatherback was forced into Otachi, Godzilla released his hold on the smaller Kaiju, as Otachi and Leatherback tumbled back through the street.

The pair landed in a heap a few metres away from Godzilla, Leatherback was stunned from the acid and the impact, but Otachi was still mobile. The serpent pulled itself free from it's larger companion and once more glared at Godzilla.

This time though, Otachi lifted it's arms high into the air, and with a swishing motion, a pair of leathery wings extended out from it's arms. With a flap powerful enough to cause gale force winds, Otachi took to the sky, soaring above the buildings and roaring down at it's terrestrial enemy.

Godzilla glared at the soaring Otachi, letting out an agitated growl. In a flash, Otachi dived down and clawed at Godzilla's head with it's talons. The claws dug into the dinosaur's flesh as they raked across charcoal scales. Otachi regained altitude as it circled above, preparing to strike again. Godzilla meanwhile glared upwards at his airborne enemy, while a bright blue light began to illuminate his spines.

In a flash, Godzilla's atomic breath burst from his mouth and shot through the sky towards Otachi. The flying Kaiju banked to the left and narrowly avoided the blast. Godzilla fired again, this time striking Otachi's claw-like tail, blowing the appendage off. Otachi howled in pain, but kept afloat, as shimmering blue blood dripped down onto the streets below.

The winged monster howled again, and went to claw at Godzilla's head once more, but this time the dinosaur was prepared. At the last minute, Godzilla moved his head and bit down on Otachi's leg, eliciting another pain filled shriek from the Kaiju.

Using his monstrous strength, Godzilla pulled Otachi out of the sky, and sent the creature hurtling into another building. Otachi attempted to pull itself free, but Godzilla made his move before it had the chance.

A clawed hand enclosed around Otachi's neck, pinning the creature against the skyscraper. Before Otachi could do anything, Godzilla leaned down and viciously tore into Otachi's throat. The massive monsters fangs ripped and shredded Otachi's jugular, as the smaller Kaiju thrashed wildly, trying desperately to force Godzilla off. But it was too late.

Blue blood poured down from Otachi's tail and throat as Godzilla pulled back, tearing off a sizeable chunk of Otachi in the process. The Kaiju slumped and fell forward with a satisfying crash. It hissed weakly as it tried to pull itself up off the ground, but it's strength faded rapidly along with it's life.

Finally, with one more pathetic cry, Otachi was no more.

Godzilla prepared to roar, but was interrupted by a howl from something else. Leatherback stomped through the city streets, rage burning in it's inhuman eyes as it glared at the blood stained beast. Charging again, Leatherback raced towards Godzilla, and tackled the larger monster through a building.

The behemoths rolled across the ground as debris shot this way and that. Leatherback and Godzilla exchanged punches and bites as they tore through the city in their brawl. As the pair entered the docks, they broke away from each other momentarily, before once more grappling with each other. Leatherback roared as Godzilla pushed it through various cargo cranes, crushing containers along the way.

With a shunt, Godzilla knocked Leatherback away. The smaller creature stumbled, trying to regain it's balance, but it was all for naught as Godzilla's tail came up and roughly struck. The Kaiju was knocked back and soon found itself tripping on the edge of the docks, falling directly on a container ship which splintered around it.

Leatherback lay amidst the wreckage of the ship as the water flooded over around the Category IV. A bright blue light outshone the dull orange of the dock lights as Leatherback looked up at Godzilla. In a flash of light and fire, Leatherback was consumed by Godzilla's atomic breath. The Kaiju howled and shrieked and thrashed as Godzilla continued to unleash his power upon his enemy.

Soon enough, Leatherback fell as silent as Otachi, it's smouldering corpse burning away from a mixture of Godzilla's attack, and it's own genetic self-destruct button working in tandem. Finally, Godzilla ceased his attack and surveyed what little remained of Leatherback. Content that his enemy was dead, Godzilla let out another victorious roar, basking in his triumph.

Until the metallic fist impacted against his head.

* * *

Raleigh Beckett panted loudly as he watched the colossal monster stagger back "I hope you're ready for this Mako" he breathed.

"More then ready" the young woman said with a fiery determination as she entered a combat stance.

Godzilla snarled angrily as he lunged for Gipsy Danger. With all the power they could muster, Raleigh and Mako pulled back, narrowly dodging Godzilla's attack.

"Fire up the elbow rocket!" Raleigh roared as he and Mako leaned back and raised their right fists. Gipsy mimicked their stance as that familiar jet engine began to ignite, all the while Godzilla watched on intently.

Just as Gipsy prepared to launch it's rocket powered attack, Godzilla made his move. The titanic beast moved in close to the MK-III Jaeger, and used his claw to grab onto Gipsy's fist just as the punch was let loose. The rocket strained, fighting against Godzilla's monstrous strength while the charcoal behemoth held it back.

Finally the engine died out, the fuel reserves running dry and ending their assault. Not missing a beat, Godzilla withdrew his hand and roughly struck Gipsy Danger, knocking the machine away.

"I forgot how hard he hits" Raleigh spat "We can't beat him in a straight fight, and we sure as hell won't take him out in a ranged one, you got any ideas?" he asked Mako.

"Just one" she snarled as she pressed a button on the overhanging control pad.

"Sword, deployed" came the femininely robotic voice of the AI that inhabited all Shatterdome related systems.

Raleigh watched in awe as a pair of long sword blades erupted out from the top of Gipsy Danger's wrists. "So this is what you meant by better than new?" he laughed as Mako grinned sadistically.

Gipsy swung at Godzilla with it's blades, forcing the larger creature to step back. Godzilla roared as he tried to move in close, but another swing from Gipsy forced a retreat.

"If we use these, we can stay out of range of his attacks" Mako explained "I trust your Kenjutsu is up to scratch?" she asked somewhat mockingly.

"Guess we'll find out!" Raleigh exclaimed as he and Mako lunged forward towards Godzilla. A wide slash from Gipsy's left arm forced Godzilla to step back once more, which was precisely what the linked pilots wanted.

Using the boosters on the back of the mech, Gipsy was carried forward, using it's right arm to stab forwards. Godzilla attempted to sidestep the strike, but was too slow, and the blade cut into the side of his stomach.

Crimson liquid coated the edge of the blade as Gipsy went to dig it in further. However now Gipsy had played into the monster's hands. Godzilla moved forward, ignoring the blade that dug into his side, and bringing himself close enough to attack Gipsy.

Godzilla viciously struck Gipsy Danger with his claws, once more shaking the cockpit. With a blow from one of Godzilla's arms, Gispy's sword was knocked out of his side, giving the behemoth the freedom it needed to attack Gipsy.

Again and again Godzilla struck Gipsy, till finally the mech was knocked off it's feet and back down to the ground. Gipsy started to retract it's swords so it could get up, but Godzilla stamped down on the left arm blade, shattering it in the process.

Gipsy retracted what remained of the weapon and pulled itself up to face the monster once more. Godzilla tried to bite down on Gipsy's head, but the smaller machine shoved it's left forearm into Godzilla's neck, keeping the monster's jaws a hairs breadth away from closing on the conn-pod.

As Godzilla tried to overpower Gipsy, the machine drove its knee into the monsters stomach again and again, aiming specifically for the cut on his side.

Finally, with a particularly brutal strike, Gipsy succeeded in driving Godzilla off. Pressing the advantage, Gipsy moved in and let lose punch after punch on Godzilla, trying to pummel the monster to death. When Godzilla tried to protect his head, Gipsy hit him in the gut and vice versa. Raleigh knew that if they gave Godzilla even one inch, he'd decimate them, so all they could do was never let up.

Gipsy went to throw another punch, and Godzilla made his move. Twisting around, his mighty tail swung out and smashed into Gipsy's chest, sending the machine careening into the water of Hong Kong bay. Raleigh and Mako gasped as they tried to assess the damage and see if they could still fight, when suddenly a voice crackled over the radio.

"Stay down!"

* * *

All eyes in the room were on Serizawa, as he roughly held the microphone. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Pentecost growled.

"We need to end this fight now Marshall" Serizawa replied frantically.

"No! This is our chance to finish this monster once and for all" he snarled back.

"Gipsy Danger cannot win like this, and even if they could, the fight will leave the Jaeger damaged beyond repair, and how exactly will you stage your attack on the Breach with only two functioning Jaegers?" Serizawa snapped back. Pentecost was silent for a moment, which Serizawa used to speak more "If Gipsy plays dead here, Gojira might return to the sea and give us time to repair them for the assault" the scientist reasoned.

The Marshall's face twisted and contorted as various thoughts and feelings tore through his mind and heart. He looked up at the main monitor, and watched that hateful creature stand amidst the waves, waiting to see if his foe got back up. A faint blue light emanated from the creature's spikes, the tell tale sign of his atomic breath, though judging from the light, he was merely preparing it in case Gipsy Danger did try to fight back.

"...Gipsy...Stand down" he finally said with a defeated tone.

Everyone in the command centre watched Godzilla with baited breath as the beast stood still. After what felt like an eternity, the light on his spines vanished, and the beast finally let out that victorious roar it had been denied twice before.

The roar shook the Shatterdome slightly as slowly but surely, Godzilla made his way back into the water, finally disappearing beneath the waves.

"Recover Cherno, Striker and Gipsy" Pentecost finally ordered "I want them repaired and fighting fit for tomorrow"

"Okay..." Tendo said, uncertain if his teams could do it, but not wanting to risk arguing with the Marshall "What happens tomorrow?"

"We destroy the Breach" Pentecost said simply, as he went out to meet the six returning pilots.

"He makes it sound so easy" Serizawa mused aloud.

"I hope it is as simple as that" Tendo replied "Think the big guy will show up at the Breach?" he asked.

"Who's to say?" Serizawa said rhetorically "I think we have to re-evaluate a lot of our ideas about Gojira" the scientist said mostly to himself as he went over the all the revelations the fight had brought.

Serizawa wasn't sure what would happen, but he knew that tomorrow would mark the end of this long war with the Kaiju.

One way or the other.


	9. Chapter 8: Destroy All Monsters

"Amazing" Serizawa breathed out as he looked through the microscope's lens "Truly amazing, Dr. Gottlieb, take a look" he said, moving away from the aparatus to allow the younger British scientist a chance to look.

Herman removed his glasses and gazed down the scope "Cellular shape and composition seems drastically unlike the Kaiju" he observed "Just a cursory glance gives the impression that Godzilla was indeed a product of evolution, though you'll need far more than this to prove it to most of the scientific community".

"You're missing it" Serizawa said excitedly "This blood sample is over an hour old, and yet the cells are as healthy and active as if they were still inside Gojira's body" he pointed out.

Herman slowly looked up at him as realisation struck "It is certainly possible, given his assumed reptilian heritage that his cells would be able to repair themselves" Herman pointed out.

"Yes, similar to a lizard regrowing a lost limb, but on a far grander scale, just think of the possibilities" Serizawa exclaimed.

"You might want to avoid telling this to the Marshall" Herman warned "I do not think he will take kindly to discovering that Godzilla can regenerate at such a level".

Serizawa grimaced "Speaking of, I have to go, the Marshall wants me on hand at all times for the attack" he said as the elder scientist stood up and began to leave.

"I'm heading out into the city to assist Newton with his work" Gottlieb said as Serizawa entered the doorway.

"Excellent" he said calmly "You'll probably be more useful than I" and with that, the doctor left.

* * *

"Repairs are complete sir" Tendo Choi said dutifully as he saluted the Marshall "We've replaced the circuits destroyed in the EMP and swapped out the damaged armour plates, the only thing we've not been able to get functional is Gipsy's damaged sword blade".

"Very good" Pentecost said calmly "Tell the pilots to suit up and outfit Striker with the device" he ordered.

"Sir, are you sure it's wise to start this attack now? The pilots are still exhausted from Hong Kong" Tendo asked with a concerned tone.

Pentecost stared at him, or rather through him, with those cold eyes of his as he responded "Mr. Choi, if anything doctors Gottlieb and Geiszler have said in the last twenty four hours is even remotely true, then we have no choice but to attack the Breach now"

Tendo was going to argue, but Pentecost silenced him pre-emptively with a look. Defeated the officer went back to his station to begin the work he'd been tasked with.

* * *

A sense of dread filled Raleigh Becket as he locked himself in place inside the Conn-Pod of Gipsy Danger. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically, not surprising considering the battle he'd been part of mere hours ago, it was a wonder that he was still standing.

At that moment, he looked over towards his partner Mako. He couldn't help but be amazed at the young woman's determination, here she was, still raring to go even after the fight with Godzilla.

Raleigh felt his mind slowly turn back time, to the first ever battle he'd fought. He and Yancy had been fresh out of the academy, fresh faced and arrogant, the Becket boys thought they could take on the Kaiju invasion single-handedly.

He found it funny, thinking back on the person he'd been in the past in comparison to how he was now. Realisation struck Raleigh like a ton of bricks as he questioned when exactly he'd become so much like his older brother.

Shaking his head, Raleigh tried to focus on the coming battle, but strangely enough, his mind wandered to the possibilities of tomorrow. Assuming they did save the world, everything went to plan and the Kaiju threat was eliminated forever, what then?

It had been so long since that fateful attack on San Francisco, Raleigh struggled to imagine how the world could ever go back to the way it was. He wondered if people could learn to feel safe again and if they would remember the men and women who fought so hard in this war, or if they'd all become a statistic in a history book.

Amidst all this uncertainty there was one thing Raleigh was sure of. He wanted to see that tomorrow, he wanted to be there when the metaphorical phoenix that was the human race rose from the ashes.

"You know it's funny" he said to Mako "All these years I've been living in the past, and only am I starting to think about the future...Never did have good timing" he admitted mostly to himself as he prepared for what would undoubtedly be their last battle.

* * *

Herc silently watched the ocean blur past through Striker Eureka's main monitor as Chuck nervously shuffled next to him. While he'd never admit it, most certainly not in the presence of his son, the years of combat were starting to take their toll on the ex-RAAF pilot.

He'd been there since the start, joining the Jaeger Program practically day one in order to avenge those he'd lost in Sydney all those years ago. It still hurt to this day, thinking about the memory of his wife and parents, but Herc had forced himself to go on, for the sake of Chuck.

Eventually he found his mind wandering back to Scott. He'd seen hide nor hair of his younger brother for a few years, truth be told he still hadn't forgiven Scott for his betrayal and Herc had gone out of his way to cut off all forms of contact with his disgraced sibling.

As Striker was carried through the air towards the drop point, Herc briefly wondered if he'd ever be able to forgive Scott for what he'd done. The pilot angrily shook his head, there was no point in thinking on a tomorrow he very probably wasn't going to be alive to see, what he had to focus on was the here and now, to make sure others would live for that tomorrow.

* * *

With a thunderous crash the three Jaegers were released from the transports, and crashed into the pacific ocean.

Stacker watched the monitor intently as Striker, Gipsy and Cherno began to disappear beneath the thrashing waves.

"All ports sealed" Tendo announced as he scanned the computer screen and tapped furiously at the keyboard "Jaeger team is descending at a steady pace, they'll reach the destination in T-Minus four minutes".

Pentecost nodded "Very good Mr. Choi, is the package secure?" he asked.

Tendo tapped a few more keys "All systems are green, and it's ready for deployment" came the response.

"Any activity from the Breach yet?" the Marshall questioned.

"Nothing yet sir-" Tendo began to say, but in a cruel twist of fate, an alarm suddenly flared to life. With lightning quick reflexes Tendo turned back to the computer and once more set to work. "Two signatures detected leaving the Breach!" he yelled "They're category IV's!"

Pentecost mentally cursed, while he knew full well this wasn't going to be easy, he still held out hope.

* * *

With baited breath, Raleigh and Mako turned from left to right, Gipsy Danger mimicking their movements, as the massive machine slowly powered it's way through the ocean depths.

The spotlights on the Jaeger's torso tried their best to pierce through the dark water's haze, but it was no use. Faint silhouette's of underwater mountain's shimmered in the distance as the trio of Jaeger's powered on, the pressure from the water restricting their movements.

"I can't see anything" Raleigh said through the comms to the other Jaeger teams.

"We can barely see you, how are we meant to spot Kaiju?" came the disgruntled voice of Sasha Kaidonovsky in response.

"We're almost at the drop zone" Herc suddenly declared through the radio "Still no contact from those two Cat IV's...Why do I feel like we're walking into a trap?"

"Should we fall back and regroup?" Mako asked the ex-RAAF pilot.

"No, we have our orders, we'll keep going and spring the trap. We're counting on you guys to watch our backs, if these things are even remotely intelligent, Striker will be their top priority".

"Don't worry sir, you're in safe hands" Raleigh assured as he watched the distant shape of Striker Eureka make it's move for the Breach.

* * *

"Have you got anything else on the Cat IV's?" Pentecost asked as he watched the footage from Striker Eureka intently.

"No...I think the Breach is somehow interfering with the equipment, I keep picking them up then I lose them almost immediately" Tendo replied as he struggled with his computer.

In the back of the room, Serizawa silently watched the events unfold on the main monitor, something was wrong with this whole scenario. It was so unlike the Kaiju to not attack the second they saw a Jaeger, and looking at their movements the various sensors could pick up, they seemed to be herding the strike team, almost as if they wanted them to get to the...

Serizawa's eyes widened as he jumped into action and made his way to the front of the room at breakneck speed "Get them out of there now!" he roared. It had been bothering him since the beginning, according to Herman's theory there should have been three Kaiju exiting the Breach, not two.

However, Serizawa's warning came too late, as once more the command centre's instruments began to go wild. Serizawa moved in close to Tendo as the two of them stared in horror at the screen.

"That's impossible..." Tendo breathed as his hands shook slightly "There's another Kaiju signature exiting the Breach".

"What category is it?!" Pentecost roared.

Serizawa slowly turned to face the Marshall "It's a Category V".

* * *

With heavy footfalls, Striker Eureka drew ever closer to the shimmering orange dimensional portal. Each step the machine took brought with it a growing sense of both dread and apprehension in Herc. The veteran was well aware that this operation was going far too smoothly, something was about to happen, he just wanted to get it over and done with quickly so they could deliver the package.

As if on cue, the Breach began to violently shudder as arcs of what appeared to be lightning danced across the luminescent surface. Through the eerie light, a truly monstrous looking black silhouette began to emerge from deep within the vortex.

The radio suddenly burst to life as the panicked voice of Mako spoke up "The Kaiju are attacking!" she exclaimed, as the faint sounds of crashing and crunching were heard in the background. However, the Hansen's didn't pay much attention to what was being said, rather their attention was focused on the thing coming through the Breach.

To say it was massive would be an understatement. The mountain of flesh that slowly took shape before the Jaeger was a terrifying sight to behold, massive forearms that certainly looked capable of tearing through steel as if it were paper. Myriads of tails waved disturbingly in the water behind the new Kaiju as it reared it's hammer shaped head back and let out a muffled roar.

Herc felt sick looking at this thing, aside from it's extremely intimidating size and probable strength, it's face was contorted in some kind of permanent grin. As if the Kaiju was deriving some sadistic pleasure from the unnerving effect it's mere existence had on everything around it.

The Kaiju regarded Striker Erueka with a curious glance, before suddenly swimming forward straight towards the Jaeger at full speed.

* * *

The bull-like form of Scunner crashed into Gipsy Danger as the Category IV Kaiju tried to gauge through the mech's face with it's claws.

Whatever signal the Kaiju had been waiting for, they'd clearly gotten it, as both Gipsy and Cherno came under attack simultaneously. Raleigh risked a glance over towards the MK-I Jaeger, and felt his heart sink.

The Russian machine feebly punched at it's serpentine foe, as the lithe form of Raiju effortlessly danced through the water around the old generation machine. Raiju's long snout opened wide, revealing rows upon rows of serrated teeth as the Kaiju bit down on Cherno Alpha's shoulder, and tore it's arm clean off. Cherno's lost limb floated through the water for a few moments, before slowly sinking to the sea bed as various liquids poured from the Jaeger's ruined shoulder.

A sudden crash brought Raleigh's attention back to the matter at hand as Scunner tried to use it's tusks to tear into Gipsy's chest. Scunner slashed at Gipsy's face with one of it's claws, forcing the machine to pull back to save the pilots from the torrent of water that would obviously follow. Mako and Raleigh yelled out as they managed to land a punch to Scunner's head, dazing the beast and giving them some leeway. The Category IV Kaiju shook it's head and snarled at the Jaeger as it prepared to strike again but the smaller machine was much more agile as a powerful right hook impacted Scunner's chest.

Scunner reared back, but Gipsy continued on the offensive, grabbing one of the Kaiju's tusks firmly and smashing it's fist into the monsters face with all the force it could muster. Scunner broke free from Gipsy and retreated, giving the Jaeger some much needed breathing room.

Turning back towards Cherno Alpha the pilots watched in horror as Raiju's powerful jaws tore into the aged machine's armour again and again, tearing away chunks from the squirming mech. Gipsy fought through the water, intent on saving Cherno from it's attacker as the MK-III machine powered towards it's elder counterpart. Reaching out Gipsy almost grabbed Raiju, but at the last second something latched onto the Jaeger from behind. Turning around, Mako and Raleigh saw that Scunner had recovered and was now using it's monstrous strength to hold Gipsy back.

The pilots could do nothing as Raiju continued to rip and tear into Cherno Alpha, crushing and tearing with those frightful jaws, till finally the Kaiju roared, opened it's mouth as wide as it could and and bit down on Cherno's head. The last screams of the Kaidonovsky's resounded through the radio, as Gispy struggled in vain to break free from Scunner. Finally though, there was silence as Cherno Alpha's remains fell to the floor, kicking up a cloud of silt in the process.

Raleigh was thrown into a stunned silence for a moment, until Mako's frantic struggling snapped him out of it. With one great heave, Gipsy Danger broke free of Scunner's grip and proceeded to make a mad dash for Raiju.

The pilots roared with more fury than the Kaiju themselves could muster as Gipsy's fist collided with Raiju's snout. The crocodile like Kaiju shook it's head like a dog, and snarled at it's new opponent, and was promptly hit in the face again. Rage drove both pilots as Gipsy furiously pummelled Raiju again and again and again. Luminescent blood leaked from Raiju's face as it struggled against the barrage of blows, letting out a meek whine in the process.

In response came a challenging roar as Scunner swam towards it's brethren and prepared to drive it's tusks into Gipsy's back. At the last second, the MK-III Jaeger whirled around, using the momentum to deliver a vicious backhand strike to Scunner's face. The two Category IV's composed themselves as they swam around Gipsy like a pair of sharks circling prey.

"This is probably it" Raleigh said simply.

"Yeah" Mako agreed, watching the Kaiju and waiting for their attack.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not going down without a fight!" Raleigh snarled fiercely. Mako just smirked and twisted her arm, engaging Gipsy's undamaged sword.

* * *

Striker crashed through a large pillar of stone and hit the sea bed hard. Not missing a beat, the massive machine rolled to its feet with clenched fists as it eyed up its opponent.

The ground shuddered as the Category V stomped forward and tilted its head quizzically, as if wondering what Striker Eureka would try next. If Herc didn't know any better, he'd swear this thing was toying with them.

The MK-V charged the Kaiju and lashed out with wrist mounted blades. The monster pulled back and swayed away from Striker's slashes, despite the truly massive size, this Kaiju was extremely quick and nimble. A thin trail of blood leaked out from a small cut on the Kaiju's torso as Striker moved to stab the beast in the face. Twisting out of the way, the creature snarled and went to bite down on the outstretched limb.

"Now!" Herc roared to his son as they threw everything they had into a left straight, which hit the Kaiju with a muffled thud. The beast was stunned for a moment, but that was all the Hansen's needed as Striker brought its fists together, raised them up, and delivered a blow to the back of the monsters skull.

On most Kaiju, that would have been a crippling attack, on this one however it seemed to be nothing more than a mild inconvenience as it instantly slashed at Striker with one of its meaty forearms. Once again Striker was thrown through the water, crashing into rock formations until finally coming to a shuddering stop. Herc and Chuck groaned as they struggled to pull themselves up "We're getting our arses kicked!" Chuck snapped angrily.

"Really? Because it looks like he's on the ropes to me" Herc said sarcastically, trying to will himself to keep fighting "We can't do this alone" he said solemnly as he turned on the comms "Gipsy, Cherno, we need help ASAP".

The response came in the form of distorted crashes and yells "Cherno's been destroyed sir" Raleigh Becket said through the radio "And we're a little busy here" as if on cue, a roar followed by the tearing of metal replaced Raleigh's voice as the link between Jaegers was severed.

"Damn it" Herc swore, punching the console in frustration "We've got to drop the bomb, and this ugly bastards in the way, what do we do?" he asked himself.

"This isn't a hard problem to solve old man, we either kill this thing and deploy the nuke, or we get killed by it and the entire Earth gets wiped out" Chuck suddenly interjected as he pulled himself up.

Herc gave him a look. "Don't call me old." He pounded his fist in tune with Striker and charged.

* * *

The sword blade sliced through the water purposefully towards Scunner, who tried to pull away from the attack at the last second. With a clean slash, the weapon tore through Scunner's secondary pair of arms with ease.

The Kaiju gave a pain filled roar as it waved the bleeding stumps around wildly through the water. Not missing a beat, Gipsy Danger rammed a shoulder into the wounded beast's chest and raised the sword up, ready to deliver the final blow.

At that moment, Raiju re-entered the fray, latching onto Gipsy's back and trying to close those monstrous jaws around the machine's head. Reacting as quickly as it could, Gipsy suddenly dived backwards, slamming it's head into Raiju's and loosening the Kaiju's hold.

Whirling around, Gipsy swung the sword down, trying to cleave Raiju in two, but at the last moment, the crocodile avoided the attack and dove in towards Gipsy. Raiju tackled the Jaeger, and pinned it against the side of an underwater mountain, using all of it's weight to keep the sword bearing arm in place.

Gipsy struggled underneath Raiju, but no matter how much the machine tried, it couldn't free the blade from Raiju's hold. Pointing it's snout down, the Kaiju growled as it positioned the Conn-Pod in between it's open jaws.

Suddenly Gipsy pulled it's remaining arm free from Raiju and drove a fist into the creatures skull. Raiju took the blow shockingly well, not even budging an inch as it prepared to bite down and end the Jaeger once and for all. With a hiss, a panel on Gipsy's arm opened, and a broken sword blade emerged at breakneck speed, impaling Raiju's skull long before the Category IV had any idea what happened. Raiju went limp as blood and brain tissue seeped from the wound. With herculean effort, Gipsy threw the corpse off and retracted the damaged sword, before turning to face the approaching Scunner.

With its two remaining arms, Scunner tried to grab onto Gipsy, but the MK-III ducked out of the way at the last minute and slammed itself into Scunner, knocking the Kaiju into the rock face. Not giving Scuner a chance to retaliate, Gipsy punched the Kaiju repeatedly, each blow driving the creature further into the mountain as the entire mass of rock shook from the impacts.

Scunner slashed at Gipsy, forcing the machine back as the Kaiju got its bearings and roared challengingly. The response was rather unexpected, a series of cracks and groans, prompting both combatants to look up at the same time.

High above, chunks of the mountain began to break off, slowly at first, but gradually picking up speed, until there was an avalanche of stone bearing down on Gipsy and Scunner.

Gipsy Danger turned away and ran, Scunner attempting to give chase, but a particularly large boulder collided with the creatures back, knocking it back down as more and more rocks fell to the ocean floor. The Jaeger tried to dive out of the way, but it too was hit by innumerable projectiles, knocking the machine roughly to the ground as rocks pelted it from above. There was silence as the last of the boulders fell. A column of blood oozed out from the gaps between the rubble, as a half buried Gipsy Danger struggled to move.

Inside the Conn-Pod, Raleigh groaned in pain as he clutched his left arm "I think it's broken" he said through clenched teeth.

Mako nodded and engaged the comm system "Marshall, we've suppressed the Kaiju, but we're unable to continue fighting, how is Striker Erueka fairing?" she asked.

* * *

"This isn't working" Pentecost growled as he watched the Category V overpower Striker once more.

"That is one big bitch" Tendo joked, trying desperately to ease the tension.

"I think Slattern is a more suitable title for this thing" Pentecost interjected "Serizawa, have you got anything useful to tell us?" the Marshall snapped, clearly frustrated at the situation.

"No, the battle is making it difficult to ascertain any tangible data, but if I had to speculate I'd say this creature has been specifically designed to finish off our defences, both organic and inorganic" the scientist said with a serious tone.

"And do you have any suggestions for dealing with it?" Pentecost asked.

"I think our best bet would be to drop the device in the Breach first, then focus our efforts on this Slattern as you called it" Serizawa responded.

Pentecost thought for a moment before turning back to the radio "Striker? You need to disengage from the fight and deliver the package ASAP" he ordered.

"That's assuming we can get away from this thing, in case you haven't noticed, it's been tossing us around like a rag doll!" Chuck snapped through the comms.

"You're going to have to try, Gipsy's down and won't be able to provide back up, you boys are the last hope of planet Earth" Pentecost reminded, keeping his cool.

"Understood Marshall" Herc suddenly said, overriding his son before he could say anything else to their commanding officer "We're deliver the package, don't worry about a thing" he reassured as the line went dead.

"I hope they can do it" Tendo mused out loud.

"They're the world's best team, in the world's most advanced Jaeger, if anybody has a shot at finishing it, it's those two" Pentecost said proudly.

Serizawa turned back to his monitor, about to go over the data on Slattern again, when suddenly the radio once more flared to life.

"It's Gottlieb and Geiszler!" Tendo announced.

"What do those two want now?" Pentecost said, somehow knowing it wasn't going to be good news.

* * *

Running was not in Chuck Hansen's nature, granted, he'd never really been up against something like this new Kaiju before, but still, he was the sort of person who'd rather die then give up. But even he knew there was more at stake here then his own pride, and thus he worked with his father as they pushed Striker Eureka to it's limits, running across the ocean floor.

Luckily, Striker excelled at running, in a straight line the Jaeger was keeping a fair distance away from the chasing Slattern, who had to slow down and navigate its bulky frame through the various rock formations.

"So who would you rather fight? This bitch or Godzilla?" Chuck asked, trying to lighten the mood as the conn-pod once more flooded with the orange glow of the Breach.

"I think I'd rather retire" was Herc's reply, he didn't even want to think about Godzilla right now, no telling where that lizard was or what it was up too, they were just lucky it wasn't here.

Finally Striker once more reached the edge of the cliff face, overlooking the portal between dimensions "Hurry up and activate the release mechanism old timer!" Chuck growled, as he kept watch out for Slattern.

Herc was too focused on inputting the button sequence he didn't even have time to berate his son for the nickname, no matter what he had to deploy the device. With one final sequence of keystrokes, the deployment sequence began to engage as the Hansen's prepared to end the war at long last.

Only nothing happened, at least until the AI's robotic voice suddenly flared to life "Error, locking mechanism disabled. Unable to release thermonuclear device" she said almost pleasantly.

"What?!" Herc howled as he tried to sequence again, only to once more be met with an error.

"You've gotta be kidding me" Chuck said disbelievingly "We've come all this way for nothing?!"

"How could things get any worse?" Herc asked, mentally slapping himself in the face as soon as he realised what he'd just said.

As if on cue, the radio came to life with the irate voice of Pentecost "We have a problem gentlemen" he said seriously.

"You don't know that half of it" Herc muttered to himself as Stacker continued.

"Gottlieb and Geiszler have just contacted us from the city, they've drifted with the remains of a Kaiju and they're claiming there's a kind of genetic barrier around the Breach, preventing anything without Kaiju DNA from entering"

"So even if we could drop the bomb, it won't do anything? This is bullshit!" Chuck roared.

"What does he mean if?" Pentecost asked, realising that something else was wrong.

"The locking mechanism's been damaged, we can't remotely deploy the device" Herc explained with a defeated sigh.

There was silence from the radio, until finally Pentecost spoke once more "Can you still arm it?" he asked simply.

Herc ran a quick diagnostic on the nuke's systems "As far as I can tell, yeah" he said, catching onto Pentecost's implications.

"I can't ask you to do this-" the Marshall began to say, but he was cut off.

"You don't need to ask me to do anything Stacker, it's my duty, don't worry, we'll end this war, one way or the other, Striker out" Herc said, cutting off communications.

"All right boy, I've got a really stupid plan, we're only going to get one shot at this, so let's make it count" Herc told his son as the ex-RAAF pilot stood tall.

A dull thud signalled the return of Slattern, as Striker slowly turned to face the much larger adversary. There was a disturbingly serene moment as Striker and Slattern stared one another down "Device armed" the AI said cheerily, as if the thought of a thermonuclear explosion pleased it on some level.

"You sure this'll work?" Chuck asked his father, not taking his eyes off of Slattern.

"No, but if you have any better ideas, you have about three seconds to suggest them" Herc responded, hoping his son had something more to say.

There was silence right up until the moment when Slattern dived forwards, intending to crush Striker with the full force of it's mass. The MK-V Jaeger jumped backwards, leaping off the cliff and floating through the water above the Breach as Slattern drew closer.

The Kaiju grabbed Striker and began to try and pull it apart, however much to Slattern's surprise, Striker didn't fight back, instead it wrapped its arms around the Kaiju as much as it could, and held on. Slattern struggled to break Striker's grip, but the smaller machine held on as boosters fired, turning the pair around in the water, so Slattern was facing towards the Breach.

"Eject!" Herc yelled loudly as both he and his son were lifted from their harnesses, and placed inside of Striker Eureka's escape pods. With a loud clang, two pods erupted from the top of the Jaeger's head, barely avoiding being hit by Slattern's flailing arms, as the Kaiju was forced down by the weight of Striker Eureka as the pair disappeared into the Breach.

* * *

A pregnant silence descended upon the command centre, as everyone watched the main monitor intently. Their instruments could barely read Striker and Slattern's signatures inside the Breach itself as the pair slowly descended.

The information was spotty at best, it kept cutting in and out as signatures appeared and disappeared seemingly at random. Finally though, the timer on the device hit zero, and just like that, all the information from the Breach ceased.

All at once, the silence was shattered by cheers as realisation hit home. The war was won, the nightmare was over.

Pentecost barely hid his grin as he turned back to the radio "Herc, Chuck, you boys make it out okay?" he asked.

"We're fine" came Herc's response "Stuck in the middle of the bloody ocean, but no injuries on our end. Did we do it Marshall?" he asked.

"Yeah, you did great, don't worry we've got a rescue time en-route to you right now" Pentecost said happily, as he switched frequencies "Gipsy! You hanging in there?" he asked.

"We're fine Marshall" Mako replied "Mr. Becket's got a broken arm, but we've managed to pull ourselves free from the rubble, we're making our way to shallow waters now"

"I'll see you both when you get back, good job rangers" he said, ending the call.

Amidst all the cheers and applause, Serizawa was hunched over his monitor, he'd never really thought about what he'd do when this day finally came. For the longest time he'd figured the only way the war would end would be with the Kaiju overwhelming them, it was strange trying to picture a world without monsters now.

It was then that he was reminded of something, there was still a monster out there, and he was fairly certain once the celebrations concluded, Pentecost would try and hunt him down. Still though, perhaps he should ignore the Gojira problem for today, and just join in with everyone else.

The scientist prepared to leave his station, taking one final look at his monitor in the process, and freezing in place. Serizawa began to furiously type at the keys, checking and rechecking the data again and again. But no matter how he looked at it, the evidence was clear.

"It's Gojira!" he suddenly announced above the the technicians elated chirping. Once more silence fell over the room as Serizawa put his screen up on the main monitor "Gojira is on the move, he's come up from the ocean depths and is rapidly advancing towards Tokyo Bay".

Pentecost glared at the screen, he'd actually forgotten about Godzilla for the moment. The war wouldn't be won until all Kaiju had been eliminated "How long will it take to get Gipsy Danger to Japan?" he snarled.

Tendo did a few quick calculations "Maybe an hour if we're lucky, but sir, Raleigh's in no condition to fight-"

"Don't worry about that" Pentecost interrupted "I need a chopper ready to take me out to Gipsy Danger's position ASAP" The Marshall said as he began to leave the room.

"Where are you going sir?" Tendo asked.

"To suit up" was all Pentecost said as the door slammed shut behind him.


	10. Chapter 9: The Crossed Threshold

The once peaceful waters of Tokyo bay had been thrown into turmoil as a dozen Destroyers carefully manoeuvred around each other, trying to get into their positions.

Admiral Stenz watched his men at work on the docklands of Tokyo through a pair of binoculars as troops all around him rushed to finish preparations. The Kaiju War had made conventional military forces obsolete and with all the focus being placed upon the Jaeger program, the Admiral had occasionally wondered if there was any point in him and his men.

Truth be told, he secretly longed for an opportunity to present itself that would give the common soldier a purpose in this world. A phrase about being careful what one wished for had certainly come to mind once or twice in these last few hours.

He'd been made aware of the PPDC's intended attack on the Breach when Marshall Stacker Pentecost requested Stenz move his fleet into Asian waters to provide backup and support. Stenz had believed this attempt would fail like all the others, much to his surprise the Jaegers had succeeded in destroying the Breach, and ending the Kaiju War once and for all.

Except it wasn't over, there was still one Kaiju left, and it was making a beeline for Tokyo. To make matters worse, there was only one functioning Jaeger left, the MK-III Gipsy Danger, which was being airlifted to the recently decommissioned Tokyo Shatterdome right this minute.

And as if things weren't bad enough, one of Gipsy's pilots had been wounded in the battle, and supposedly the Jaeger itself wasn't in fantastic shape. Which is why Stenz was here, organising a first line of defence from the incoming Godzilla.

He knew him and his men didn't stand much of a chance, at best they'd distract the creature, maybe superficially wound it, until Gipsy Danger engaged it in one final battle. And even if they did manage to survive the battle against Godzilla, if Gipsy Danger fell in battle, then the PPDC would take drastic action to stop it.

As the Admiral watched tanks line up along the bay while the cannons on the ships were loaded he couldn't help but feel a bit of pride for his troops. When he'd given them the orders, they hadn't cowered or run away as he'd expected, they'd bravely begun to work.

And so here he was, stood upon the deck of the USS Edwards, a so called Super Carrier, which would serve as the launch pad for their fighters, and primary command centre during the battle.

"They're ready for you Admiral" came the voice of an infantryman who came up beside and saluted Stenz

"Very good Sergeant" Stenz said as he turned around, and stepped back inside the ship, making his way towards the operations room.

With a haunting sound, the bulkhead door opened and the Admiral climbed into the surprisingly large room. His attention was immediately drawn to the large table in the centre of the room, around which several different military officer's sat, differing uniforms denoting which branch they were representing.

"Gentlemen" Stenz said, taking the last free seat at the table "Let's go over the battle plan one final time" a chorus of agreement met Stenz as he shuffled some papers and began to speak.

"The Destroyers will handle the initial barrage when the Kaiju attempts to make landfall. We've stationed them in strategic points to hopefully confuse the beast about which one to attack first" Stenz started, as he motioned to the large map of Tokyo that was upon the table.

"The USS Edwards has taken up position a few miles from the engagement site, from here we'll launch fighters to provide assistance, hopefully the jets will lead it further out to sea in pursuit" the representative for the Air Force said, pointing at a blue quadrant on the map.

"If the Kaiju breaks through the defensive line, the tank squadrons stationed along the bay will join in the assault, we have some mobile missile platforms taking up positions in the docks right this moment. Hopefully that should keep this thing busy until the Jaeger is deployed" The rep from the Army interjected, pointing out the various areas as he spoke.

"And if the Jaeger struggles, we have a half dozen bombers on standby ordered to carpet bomb the entire area...I don't need to tell you that civilian casualties will be extremely high if it comes to that" the Airman observed.

"So what do we do if that fails and this thing enters the city?" one of the generals asked.

With a small cough, a man in a well tailored suit suddenly spoke up "The council is seriously considering the use of nuclear weapons" he said calmly "If this monster overwhelms the defences of Tokyo, they will be forced to use weapons of mass destruction."

There was silence as each of the gathered military men took in this politicians words. They all knew full well the council would launch a WMD regardless of how many people were still in the city, if they thought it would kill Godzilla once and for all.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, I'm sure the men and women in the Jaeger program can handle this monster" the general pointed out.

For a moment, Stenz wished that doctor he'd met all those years ago was here, just so he could find out exactly what their chances of success today was. However, he supposed wherever Serizawa was right now, he was busy planning a way to kill Godzilla.

* * *

Serizawa slammed his fist onto the dusty table as frustration overtook him. Nothing made sense with this whole scenario, Godzilla just blindly coming to attack a city so far away from where he'd been resting seemed to go against almost everything Serizawa had theorised.

Perhaps that was the problem though, everything he'd thought had just been theoretical. He'd spent so much time looking at this creature, perhaps he merely saw what he wanted to at the end. Godzilla was an animal, and he'd continually attributed human characteristics to it, acting like the Kaiju was some kind of misbehaving house pet and not a three hundred and fifty foot tall monster.

Serizawa just wished it all made sense, in the past Godzilla had been drawn to the presence of Jaegers and other Kaiju, presumably picking up on the vibrations and radioactive trail both left. So why now, with all his opponents gone was Godzilla going so far out of his way to come to Japan? It infuriated the scientist trying to solve this conundrum.

Perhaps the most aggravating thing of all was Pentecost and the final look he'd given him as he'd climbed onto the helicopter a few hours ago. It was both accusing and condescending, as if somehow he blamed Godzilla's attack on him.

Maybe he was right too though, in Hong Kong Serizawa had pushed to end the battle with Godzilla, perhaps this was his punishment for thinking nature was within their control?

"Hey doc, you all right?" a gruff voice suddenly said, snapping Serizawa out of his thoughts.

"Yes Marshall Hansen, I'm fine" came the doctors response. Herc Hansen had been stripped of his Drivesuit and been flown out to the recently decommissioned Tokyo Shatterdome in order to take over Stacker Pentecosts duties as Marshall.

"Nobody expects you to stay here, you could have stayed in Hong Kong with the rest of the science team" Herc said calmly.

"I am aware of that Marshall...But this is my homeland and this monster has been my obsession for these last five years, this is where I need to be" Serizawa breathed.

Herc was silent for a minute "Very well, when you're ready, join us in the command centre, the technicians seem to have gotten everything up and running, but there's some worries about the reactor for this place going down, I'll need all the help I can get".

With that, the acting Marshall turned and left the empty, dust-ridden laboratory that Serizawa had tried to find solace within. Ishiro sighed and composed himself, he wasn't fine at all, but now was not the time to breakdown, the fate of the world was going to be decided within the hour.

And so, suppressing himself as best as he could, Serizawa left the once abandoned laboratory, and made his way to the command centre.

* * *

Fingers flexed anxiously as Stacker fidgeted inside the black Drivesuit he'd been bolted into. It felt like an eternity since he'd been in this position, strapped inside the Conn-Pod of a Jaeger, and waiting out the calm before the storm, yet he could still vividly remember his days as an acting pilot as if they had only happened a week ago.

He felt the eyes of Mako Mori stare at him while he adjusted himself within the harness. He didn't need to be in the Drift to know what she was thinking. "There's no other choice" he said simply.

"Yes there is, the pilots of Striker Eureka could-" She began to say.

"The Hansens have no experience piloting Gipsy Danger, not to mention how unlikely it is you'd be able to form a stable Neural Handshake with either of them" came Pentecost's calm response.

"You'll die if you do this!" Mako insisted.

"We'll all die if I don't!" Stacker roared "I know you think this is all a matter of pride, that I'm doing this so I can relive the glory days and die a warrior's death, but that's not the reason why I'm here. We need Gipsy to go into battle, Gipsy needs a pilot with experience using her while she's in this damaged state, and that pilot needs someone beside her."

Mako was silent as she tried to think of a retort that would convince Pentecost to abandon this insane plan of his, but slowly she realised there was nothing she could say or do that would shake his determination.

"You should stop focusing on the possibility of my death, and the almost certain death of all the men, women and children still left in this city should we fail" Pentecost said gruffly.

"Yes Marshall" Mako said with a defeated. For the first time in as many years as she could remember, she no longer wanted to be a pilot, not if it meant having a front row seat to her father figure's untimely death.

* * *

"How are the final checks on Gipsy going?" Herc asked Tendo through the radio.

"They're not great" Tendo admitted, thankful he wasn't in Tokyo right now. It had been decided that he was better off remaining in Hong Kong with the already hooked up and working equipment rather than being shipped out to a dusty, decommissioned shamble.

"Outer armour's been compromised in several places, and the reaction time on the left arm has significantly decreased, not to mention the circuits damaged by the salt water, honestly I wouldn't send her out there in this condition." Tendo explained.

"We don't have much of a choice" Herc reminded "Just tell the teams to get her patched up as best as they can, and trust in Stacker and Ms. Mori" and with that, the communication was cut.

Herc rubbed his temples, this entire operation was in shambles, and the damned beast hadn't even entered Japanese waters just yet.

"Have we got a position on Godzilla yet?" The acting Marshall asked Serizawa.

"Last reported location puts him sixty miles from the shoreline, he'll make landfall within the hour" Serizawa responded.

"Let's just hope the boys have Gipsy ready in time" Herc said with a sigh, how could this day get any worse?

"Sir! There's some guy trying to enter the Shatterdome, he says he's a friend of Doctor Serizawa's" a technician suddenly declared.

Herc looked at the worker, and then looked at Serizawa confusedly "I have no idea what he's talking about" the scientist said.

"Bring him here then...But keep a close eye on him" Herc ordered, as the technician left "Maybe it's one of your old colleagues come to give us a hand?" he ventured to the doctor.

The minutes passed in anxious silence as they waited. Under normal circumstances Herc would have gone to meet this person, but he wasn't comfortable leaving the command centre at this time. It would be just his luck that Godzilla would arrive the second he was out of the room.

After what felt like an eternity, but in reality was closer to seven minutes, the door once more slid open and a male figure stepped through.

"Steve Martin?!" Serizawa exclaimed with a surprised expression.

The American reporter grinned "Oh you know how it is, I was on my way to Cairo for a story, decided to spend a day or two in Tokyo to catch up with an old college body, when suddenly the entire city is put on high alert" he mused "And here I thought with the closure of the Breach we'd be safe".

"There have been certain...Complications" Serizawa admitted "You should make your way to a shelter, there's not much time"

"Time until what exactly Doctor?" Martin fished, obviously trying to get the scientist to admit what was going on.

"That's on a need to know basis Mr. Martin" Herc suddenly stepped in "Now if you'd be so kind as to leave, we have some pressing matters to attend to".

Martin was about to say something, when once again the door hissed open, as that same technician from before returned, saluting respectively "Sir! A member of the council has just arrived at the landing pad and he's asking to see you and Dr. Serizawa"

Herc groaned, this was literally the last thing he needed "Bring him here" he relented, before motioning towards Martin "You. Leave. Now" he ordered, but the American seemed mildly amused.

"Come now Marshall" he said putting emphasis on Herc's new rank "The PPDC and I have worked together in the past, and from the looks of things here, you could do with some good old fashioned propagandistic positive reinforcement".

Herc's eyes narrowed as he prepared to have the reporter forcibly removed from the building "Perhaps there is a place for Mr. Martin in this operation" a new, older and gruffer voice suddenly announced.

Everyone in the command centre turned at once to gaze at the second newcomer. Ishiro felt his heart sink like a stone as his eyes fell upon the aged frame of his father. "Councilman Serizawa" Herc said, trying to muster as much fake respect as he could "What a pleasure it is to have you here".

Daisuke Serizawa observed Herc with his singular eye "You're an honest man Marshall Hansen" he finally said "But honest men make the worst liars. I'm well aware how little most of you want me here, but unfortunately I am probably your greatest ally right now."

"With all due respect sir, the council have never been helpful before" Herc said, not really caring who he offended any more. It wasn't like they were going to fire him right before the final battle.

"I couldn't agree with you more Marshall. Luckily for you I'm not here as a council member, I'm a physicist who just so happens to know what the council's contingency plan is, and how best to stall them".

Ishiro looked at his father quizzically, who momentarily returned his gaze, before continuing "I'm sure you're aware how little the council trusts you all to succeed in defeating this monster. They already have four nuclear missiles trained on Tokyo, just waiting for the final launch codes".

"What?!" Ishiro suddenly spoke up "But that's insane, there's still millions of people trapped in the city, not to mention we have no idea how Godzilla will react to the fallout given that he feeds upon radiation".

"Thankfully not all of the council members are soulless cowards, and there's enough hesitation in the ranks to prevent the unanimous vote they need. Unfortunately I doubt their integrity will hold up if this creature bests the assembled forces here".

There was silence as everyone felt crushed by the gravity of his words. Standing tall though, Herc broke the silence "It's a good thing we have two of the greatest pilots to ever live ready to fight in the only Jaeger to survive not just one encounter with Godzilla, but two".

There was a murmur of agreement amongst the technicians as the elder Serizawa chuckled "Yes, I too am willing to put my faith in Stacker Pentecost's skill as a pilot".

Suddenly an alarm resounded throughout the room as the main monitor lit up as the voice of Tendo Choi echoed from the radio "We've got sonar contact! Something big is about to hit the blockade!" he declared.

"What?!" Herc declared as he turned to the younger Serizawa "I thought you said he was an hour or so away?!".

* * *

With baited breath Stenz and the collection of armed forces leaders watched the large blip on the monitor. Their hearts pounded in time with the rapidly increasing rhythm of the sonar as it drew closer and closer to the Destroyers stationed in the Bay.

"Target is starting to surface, putting it up on the main monitor!" a crewman declared as the large screen flickered to life. It was almost calming, looking at the serene, still waters of Tokyo, however that make believe peace was quickly crushed as a gigantic silhouette came into view just beneath the surface of the clear sea.

The water shattered like a mirror as the beast began to pull itself up. Water droplets splintered in the air as titanic arms pushed against the ground, pulling that massive torso up. A feral growl resounded, so loud the military leaders could hear it inside of the ship as they sat, eyes transfixed upon the screen.

A tail lashed out violently, whipping away the sea spray that surrounded the monster, as two smaller tails waved in the air like serpents. Eerily blue eyes darted this way and that, bouncing between the collection of ships around the monster.

"That's...That's not Godzilla" Stenz breathed disbelievingly.

* * *

"The Category V?!" Herc gasped, unable to comprehend the sight he was seeing fully "But that's impossible! Me and the boy knocked that thing into the Breach with Striker!"

"Perhaps it broke free from Striker's hold?" Serizawa ventured "Maybe it managed to swim back out of the Breach before it was destroyed".

"God damn it!" Herc yelled as he roughly hit a desk "This bitch was hard enough to slow down with Striker Eureka...What's the situation on Gipsy?!"

"Just going through final checks, she should be able to deploy in seven minutes" Tendo responded through the radio, the sound of his frantic typing accompanying his voice.

"We have no choice in the matter, tell the armed forces to engage at will" Daisuke ordered suddenly "At the very least it will give the Jaeger time".

Herc grimaced, but he nodded nonetheless "Tendo, you better tell those guys to hurry up with those checks".

The acting Marshall looked over towards Ishiro briefly, and noticed the doctor seemed lost in thought "You okay doc?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes...Just thinking about something...I'll let you know if it goes anywhere" he said offhandedly.

* * *

A melody of simultaneous fire resounded throughout the bay as all at once the Destroyers aimed their cannons and let loose upon Slattern.

Explosions manifested all around Slattern's body, as the Kaiju twisted it's head this way and that, looking between each ship as another wave of cannon fire hit. Standing tall despite the barrage, Slattern's four eyes finally fell upon the nearest Destroyer, as the forever grinning monstrosity suddenly dashed forwards.

Closing the gap between it and the ship almost instantly. Slattern raised it's right arm high into the sky, before bringing it down onto the Destroyer. The building sized limb tore through the ship's armour like it was nothing as the craft split apart from the sheer overwhelming force of the attack.

The crewmen who'd survived the first blow dove off the rapidly sinking vessel as Slattern reared up once more and slammed it's claw down again. There was virtually nothing left of the ship, save for flotsam and jetsam that bobbed in the turbulent waves.

The assault didn't let up on Slattern however, as the rest of the Destroyers continued to fire with everything they had. Undaunted though, the Category V Kaiju lashed out with it's three tails, disintegrating another ship with one strike.

Slattern made it's way to the next closest Destroyer and slammed the water next to it, capsizing the ship as if it were a toy in a bath with a child.

"They're not even hurting it!" The General snarled "It's toying with us, look at it!".

Stenz watched on in silent horror as one after another the Destroyers fell in battle. Slattern seemed no worse for wear in contrast, the numerous explosions hadn't even broken it's skin, and in return it had decimated the ships.

"Fighters closing in" A crewman declared as a squadron of jets banked in formation and released a payload of missiles. Slattern roared as the bombardment struck, a cloud of smoke surrounding it's body momentarily before the beast swung out at the aircraft.

The jets broke formation and avoided the blow, regrouping high in the air, well outside of Slattern's reach. The Kaiju watched the fighters intently, before suddenly moving towards one of the last few Destroyers still floating in the bay. The cannons railed against the Kaiju at point blank range, but Slattern just ignored it, as the great beast reached it's arms into the water beside the ship and began to lift.

With minimal effort, the Kaiju held the craft in it's claws, easily holding it above the water, as the jets swung round for another attack. Another wave of missiles were launched at the creature, who in turn threw the ship with all it's might, sending the vessel through the air and towards the jets.

The fighters tried to break formation, but their great speed worked against them as the majority of the squadron either flew into, or was clipped by the soaring ship. The end result was all but two of the fighters had been effectively destroyed.

"Almost all of the defensive line has been wiped out!" The general roared "We've hardly even slowed this thing down!"

Stenz watched the sinking, smouldering remains of the armada in mournful silence. He'd known from the start casualties were inevitable, he just hadn't expected things to be this bad.

"Wait...It's turning away from the city!" one of the leaders suddenly declared. Indeed, Slattern stood in the water, back towards the city with it's head staring intently out to sea. With thunderous footsteps the Kaiju waded into the water.

"It's coming this way!" Stenz yelled. Panic tore through the assembled leaders, a few stood up as if debating how best to escape this massive metal coffin they'd all so willingly gathered into.

The Admiral braced himself for his oncoming death, but at the last minute the screen flashed blue and Slattern tumbled over into the water. The Kaiju pulled itself up and turned back to the city, looking for it's mystery assailant.

In the distance stood Gipsy Danger, scorched and damaged armour glinting in the sun as the battle scarred machine aimed it's plasma cannon. Throughout this past decade, Stenz had never, ever been so glad to see a Jaeger.

* * *

"I think we've gotten her attention" Stacker said fiercely as he reloaded Gipsy's weapon "Let's not keep the lady waiting!" And with that, a volley of plasma burst out from Gipsy's arm.

Slattern roared and began to charge it's attacker with a speed that seemed almost impossible for something so large. Every shot from the plasma cannon hit it's target, and though the Kaiju stumbled with each impact, it kept on going, until there was virtually no distance between it and the Jaeger.

Disengaging the cannon, the adoptive father and daughter pulled back their right arms, with the Jaeger following suit, as that familiar rocket engine on the elbow ignited. Timing was crucial here, they had maybe five seconds left before Slattern collided with Gipsy, and so with that in mind, the pair let out a loud cry and punched out.

The rocket propelled punch struck home, catching Slattern's face. The Kaiju's great speed worked against it in this case, with Slattern's momentum increasing the force of the impact. Gipsy moved out of the way as Slattern slumped down, sparks surged from the Jaeger's right arm as the pilots struggled to bring it under control "The rocket's been taken offline!" Mako declared "Mobility has dropped fifteen percent and the Plasma Cannon's circuits are malfunctioning!"

Stacker growled "She's made of sterner stuff than I expected, take the cannon off-line, we can't afford anything going wrong here" he ordered as Slattern regained it's composure. The Category V lunged forward once more, lashing out with a titanic arm and catching the Jaeger's side, knocking the machine down into the water.

Slattern loomed overhead and prepared to bring both it's claws down at once on the downed Gipsy. At the last second though, the mech twisted and rolled out of the way as Slattern's attack struck the ground with an earth-shaking thud. Managing to pull itself back up, Gipsy dashed forward and threw out another punch, connecting with the Kaiju's face once more.

Slattern flinched and growled, using the back of it's right claw to push Gipsy away. The sheer force from the blow almost knocked the machine down again, but Stacker and Mako managed to hold it together all the while Slattern went in for another attack.

Gipsy Danger back peddled, avoiding the brutal strike by a hairs breadth, but Slattern wasn't so easily out maneuvered. With incredible agility, Slattern spun around and lashed out with it's three tails, catching the Jaeger's torso and knocking Gipsy off it's feet.

Once more the MK-III hit the ground, water being thrown this way and that as Slattern stomped towards it's foe. The great beast prepared to strike again, but Gipsy struck first, it's unbroken sword extending outwards as the Jaeger slashed.

The tip of the blade pierced Slattern's chest. A thin trail of blue blood spurted out from the cut and Slattern backed off, giving Gipsy time to recover again. The machine held out it's arm, the blood coated blade reflected the light of the afternoon sun before moving forwards and slashing at the Kaiju.

Now Slattern was the one backing away and dodging as Gipsy swung the blade again and again. There were no wasted movements, and the few openings Gipsy had in it's stance weren't large enough to be safely exploited.

The Category V roared as a slash managed to catch it's stomach. The cut itself was superficial but it still caused the monster pain. As the Kaiju reared back, Gipsy went in for a stab that would almost certainly have pierced the beasts chest, if it hadn't of moved at the last second.

Slattern opened it's massive jaws and bit down upon the sword. The blade shattered like glass from the force generated by Slattern's bite, leaving Gipsy Danger weapon less. Not missing a beat, Slattern spun around once more, using it's tails to roughly strike the Jaeger and knock it away. The MK-III dropped down onto it's knee trying to steady itself as it's enemy loomed overhead.

Sweat dripped down Stacker's face while he panted loudly. He was out of shape that much was certain, although a small voice in the back of his head proposed that something else was the matter, and he'd made a mistake suiting up. He'd known from the get go that fighting this battle was going to kill him one way or another, but he hadn't cared. All that had mattered was ending this war once and for all. Now however as he slowly realised the truth, he remembered there was something else that mattered.

"She's going to lash at us again!" Stacker warned.

"What do we do?" Mako asked.

"Activate the plasma cannon on the left arm, when she strikes we're going to dive backwards into the water and blast her with everything...This could be the last thing we do...Are you ready?" he asked. Mako nodded and smiled at her father figure, a smile which Stacker returned as he began to type onto a keypad.

The Kaiju roared as it swiped at the kneeling Jaeger with a claw. As the former Marshall had said, Gipsy rolled backwards into the water, evading the blow and submerging itself under the water.

Mako yelled and thrust out with her left arm, intending to empty the clip into Slattern's face, much to her dismay however, Gipsy didn't mimic her actions. "Controls aren't responding!" she cried out, trying again and again to even move the arm, let alone fire the cannon. There was a loud hiss, followed by a whirring noise as Mako felt her harness begin to move. Realisation struck her like a bolt of lightning as her eyes darted around wildly "No!" she screamed "What are you doing?!".

Stacker was silent as he watched Mako thrash around, trying desperately to free herself from her constraints while she was pulled into the air.

Tears streamed down Mako's face as she was take up into Gipsy Danger's escape pod despite her best efforts to stop it. "I'm sorry" she suddenly heard through the radio in her Drivesuit helmet "You need to live Mako...Goodbye" and with that, the line went dead and the pod sealed itself all around her.

A thud and a hiss signalled the pod's ejection as Stacker's eyes filled with a fiery determination. Almost a decade ago he'd piloted a Jaeger single handed and defeated a Kaiju in Tokyo, saving a young Mako Mori in the process.

Perhaps it was true about history repeating itself. Regardless, Stacker had a strong suspicion this time things would be different. With that in mind, he forced himself onwards, the only thing keeping him from collapsing right now was his will to keep fighting till the bitter end.

Gipsy Danger suddenly dived out of the water, catching Slattern off guard as the much smaller machine tackled it roughly. With every last bit of power he could muster, Stacker fought onwards, managing to push his enemy back further and further away from Mako's escape pod.

Slattern roared and went to claw at Gipsy, but a swift punch to the gut distracted the Kaiju. With all the power it could muster, the mech pushed Slattern away and started to circle around, trying to get behind the monster. The Category V regained it's composure and snarled at Gipsy Danger, watching the machine intently as it began to back step further and further away. With a roar Slattern gave chase, bounding through the bay with insane speed, almost instantly closing the distance between the two titans.

Gipsy braced itself and caught Slattern's tackle, just barely managing to remain on it's feet, it took every ounce of power the Jaeger had to keep the Kaiju from crushing it.

Straining, Stacker slowly pulled his left arm back, with Gipsy Danger doing the same, and engaged the plasma cannon. The weapon charged up and was aimed directly at Slattern's chest, with some luck, the shots would burn through the Kaiju's chest and destroy it's lungs and heart. Just as the cannon neared full charge though, Slattern suddenly pulled back.

Seeking to capitalise on the sudden development, Gipsy thrust it's left arm out and prepared to fire. With a sickening crunch Slattern's gigantic arm smashed into the Jaeger's head. Metal bent and snapped as the conn-pod disintegrated immediately from the force of the blow.

* * *

A stunned silence gripped the Tokyo Shatterdome command centre. No one seemed able to fully process what had happened at first. It wasn't until the headless remains of Gipsy Danger crashed into the water that people began to react.

"No..." Herc gasped as he fell forwards and lent on a table for support.

"It's...It's over...We lost" Steve Martin breathed, a bitter taste forming in his mouth as he spoke.

"We...We have a signal from Mako's pod" Tendo said over the radio, his voice shaking and panic filled.

Ishiro felt tears forming in his eyes. He and Stacker Pentecost were not always the best of friends, but they were colleagues and allies still. The scientists buried his face in his hands as he hunched down onto the desk.

"There's a call on line one Marshall" a technician said, trying his very best to not break down "It's the council".

"Put them on the main monitor" Herc growled with a defeated rage.

"But sir...They're requesting that they speak to you in private" the technician replied.

"To hell with their requests, you all have the right to know what they're going to do" the acting Marshall snarled.

Relenting, the technician tapped on his keyboard, and the main monitor became filled with the stern faces of the council.

"Marshall Hansen" L. Taylor, representative for the United States of America, began to say "I'm truly sorry things have come to this". Herc glared up at the council, as if they themselves were to blame for the death of his old friend, but Taylor continued on "We've been left with no alternative but to approve the use of nuclear weaponry to eliminate this Kaiju"

"And killing us, the remaining soldiers and all of the innocent civilians that haven't had the chance to be evacuated in the process!" Herc growled.

"What would you have us do Marshall?" the British representative L. Cole shot back "We tried to use conventional forces to suppress the threat, and it failed, we have no other option".

Ishiro pulled himself up, removing his hands from his face as he prepared to speak. As much as he hated to admit it, the council was right, they'd exhausted everything trying to stop Slattern, there was nothing left that could save them.

However, before he could voice his opinion, he noticed something flash on the monitor out of the corner of his eye.

"So you will save the world by destroying it?!" Daisuke suddenly snapped venomously "Sometimes I forget who the real monsters are in this world".

"You were warned repeatedly councilman Serizawa. You knew what the price of failure was, and yet you still insisted on journeying to the front lines" Taylor growled back "We have to look at what is practical, as horrible as it may sound, the millions of lives we'll lose today are more acceptable than the potential billions that'll die if this creature isn't killed!".

"This is what these weapons were made for" Cole interjected "They are the final resort, when humanities last line of defence has failed".

Herc and Daisuke prepared to fight back, they refused to bow to the council as they signed the death warrant on literal millions, when suddenly someone else spoke up.

"The last line hasn't failed, we still have hope" Ishiro declared, pulling himself up from his desk and making his way over to his father and Herc to stare down the council.

"And what hope is that exactly? There are no more functioning Jaeger's left in the world, and all the conventional forces have been dispatched!" Taylor yelled, frustrated at their determination.

Ishiro smirked "Gojira has just entered Tokyo bay".

"Is that some kind of sick joke?" Cole growled "Godzilla's destruction was the primary objective of this little operation in the first place, why shouldn't we capitalise on this chance to wipe out both our enemies at once?".

"As usual you fail to understand. Gojira is not our enemy, he is the Category V's enemy" Serizawa said with that same knowing smirk "He hasn't come to Tokyo to destroy the city, he's come to fight the Kaiju that has entered his territory. We all spent so much time assuming he was some kind of malicious, demonic creature that was intent on destroying us, we overlooked the fact that despite everything else, Gojira is still an animal".

Serizawa took in air and continued speaking, not wanting to give the council a chance to interrupt him "Gojira is nothing like the Kaiju that came from the Breach, this fact has stumped experts for years, and the reason for that is rather simple. He was born on Earth".

There was silence as Ishiro finished speaking. It didn't last long however as Taylor narrowed his eyes "It doesn't matter where Godzilla comes from, it is just as much a threat to the entire planet as that Category V, how can you seriously ask us to put our faith in a radioactive lizard!" he snarled.

Ishiro was about to respond, but his father stepped up to stand beside him "You would be wise to listen to Doctor Serizawa on this matter" he suddenly said "Many years ago I ignored his warnings about this creature and we paid the price for it in Manila".

"Gojira is an ancient creature that ruled the Earth in Prehistoric days awoken and empowered by nuclear testing. He is dangerous yes, but he does not actively seek to destroy humanity like the Breach Kaiju do. In the past he has only ever been a reactionary force, attacking Kaiju and Jaeger alike whenever they make themselves known. All he's ever done is defend his territory from what he perceives as threats, which is exactly what any animal would do!" Serizawa insisted.

"You cannot convince me to leave the fate of the world in the claws of a dinosaur who's been responsible for countless amounts of death and destruction in the past!" Taylor roared.

"Are we all forgetting how last night, Godzilla more or less saved Hong Kong when all of our Jaeger's had been effectively crippled?" Herc pointed out "Once Otachi, Leatherback and Gipsy Danger had been neutralized he returned to the ocean, if Serizawa's right then today would be no different."

"In a great many ways, this creature is much like us. Stubborn, vicious and extremely protective of it's homeland. I cannot begin to fathom how such a beast came to be on this planet, perhaps Ishiro is right and he is a relic from a long since lost time granted power through humanities greatest mistake or perhaps he is the Earth's natural defender, awakened to fight this alien threat. All that matters to me is that he, like us, is unwilling to let these foul creatures destroy his home, and for that reason I shall put my faith in this monster to defend us" Daisuke declared.

"You're all insane" Cole roared "This is ludicrous!"

"Perhaps they have a point though" the representative for Puerto Rico suddenly spoke up.

"Are you mad?!" the politician from Argentina shot back "We should launch the weapons and be done with it!"

Within seconds the wall of council members had dissented into a verbal war as they bickered and argued and reasoned, till finally the transmission was cut off.

"That should keep those imbeciles occupied" Daisuke said "But that alone won't be enough, Taylor and Cole hold a great deal of power in the council, we shall need another reason to keep them from launching their precious weapons".

"That's easy enough" Steve Martin suddenly said, no longer content to stay in the background "We just need to make it so it's not in their favour to nuke Tokyo. If you can get the eyes of the world focused on this battle, get the people to root for Godzilla and think that he's going to save the Earth, the council won't dare make a move out of fear of the public outcry".

"In theory that could work, but how exactly do we convince people a giant nuclear dinosaur is a super hero?" Herc pointed out.

"Oh don't worry, you forget I'm a reporter, my job is all about glorifying the villains and vilifying the heroes" Martin grinned "Just give me a microphone, hijack a few broadcasts and we'll have the people of Earth chanting 'Go, Go Godzilla' in no time"

"Yes...That could work...You get all that Mr. Choi?" Herc asked through the radio.

"Already on it Marshall" came Tendo's reply, his typing echoing out through the comms "I'll have you ready to broadcast within the next two minutes!"

"Excellent work...Councilman Serizawa, I need you to get a hold of the USS Edwards, tell them to send their remaining troops and vehicles into the city to evacuate as many people as they can, we're going to use the Shatterdome as a makeshift shelter. Hopefully the hangars will be big enough to hold the citizens of Tokyo" Herc declared.

"Very well Marshall, I'll forward your message" Daisuke said, moving towards an unmanned station.

Herc turned towards Martin, who'd take up position behind a large microphone "We'll be broadcasting in three...Two...One!" Tendo exclaimed loudly.

"This is Steve Martin from United World News with a special broadcast live from Tokyo city." he began, putting on his best radio voice "What should have been a day for celebration and joy has quickly become a tragedy. In the early hours of the morning, the PPDC launched an assault on the inter dimensional portal that Kaiju spawned from and successfully managed to close it once and for all".

Steve took in air as he continued "However, the war was not won. A Category V Kaiju known as Slattern escaped the destruction of the Breach, and has launched a full assault upon the great city of Tokyo. The PPDC mounted a brave defence of the city, but Slattern has crushed all who have opposed it, and is now preparing to attack the city!"

"We have visual confirmation of Gojira!" Serizawa yelled, as the main monitor came to life once more.

"Tendo, I trust you're broadcasting the feed from out monitors" Herc asked.

"But of course sir. The people need to see their champion" he joked through the comms.

"However, all hope is not lost" Steve once more said, as he watched those familiar spines breach the water's surface "For many years we've lived in fear of him, told stories of his brutality and how he was a creature from another world sent to destroy us. But we were wrong. He was born on the planet Earth millennia ago and much like us, cares deeply for this small blue planet."

The spines rose up, as water droplets made charcoal scales shine in the sunlight. A powerful tail smashed the surface of the water behind him as the creature stood proud.

"In it's darkest hour, mankind has found a saviour in the most unlikely of entities. A creature that we have misunderstood and persecuted is now the only thing left on this beautiful blue world that can defeat Slattern".

The Category V turned towards the newcomer and snarled furiously. The mountain of muscle and scale reared back and opened his mouth and let out a truly magnificent roar. Even the interior of the Shatterdome vibrated from the sound waves emitted by him.

In this brief moment Steve had an epiphany. Since he'd begun his broadcast, he knew he'd have a tough job reinventing this monsters image so drastically in such a short space of time. He'd needed something that would galvanize people to the creature, in essence he had to get this beast to transcend just being an animal, he had to make it special.

A smile played across his lips as he watched that majestic form power through the water towards his foe. He'd just thought of the perfect way to get people believing in this creatures chances of victory, a silly, almost innocuous little phrase that would send ripples throughout the psyche of mankind with the connotations alone.

"Allow me to present to you Earth's last line of defence, our hero and saviour!" he paused building up the tension till it was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Godzilla, King of the Monsters!"


	11. Chapter 10: Hail Unto The King

The small pod rocked wildly amidst the waves. All around it was destruction and death, the remnants of a fleet that had been oh so easily wiped out. With a hiss, a panel on top of the pod slid off, landing somewhere in the bay as Mako Mori desperately climbed out.

Standing atop the unstable platform, Mako surveyed the devastation across the entire bay till finally she found what she was looking for. Her vision blurred with tears and she dropped to her knees sobbing, she couldn't believe it, Gipsy Danger had been destroyed and Stacker Pentecost killed.

She pounded the pod multiple times, her rage dulling the pain. Twice now she'd lost everything because of a Kaiju, and she'd been helpless to do anything about it. part of her resented Pentecost for ejecting her but it was buried under a mountain of anger and sorrow.

A loud roar snapped Mako back to reality as she slowly looked up. In the distance she could see Slattern, that damned monster that had killed her adoptive father, climb into the dock smashing at the warehouses and equipment around it.

Mako wished she had a Jaeger right now, hell she'd take a tank at this point, all she wanted was to see that monstrosity dead in the most gruesome way possible. At this point, Mako noticed how dark it had suddenly gotten, a fact which puzzled her considering there'd been no clouds in the sky a few minutes ago.

A crash behind her caused the pod to shudder and roll, as brutal waves smashed into the escape device. It took all of Mako's concentration just to remain on board her makeshift raft. Soon enough though, she understood what was going on.

Turning around Mako saw a truly titanic figure easily carve through the water. With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound, the enemy of the PPDC, Godzilla, walked past Mako's pod, his reptilian eyes transfixed upon Slattern.

The pilot watched in awe as more and more of Godzilla rose out of the water. On any other day, Mako would have been of the impression that this creature should be exterminated. Godzilla was a threat to all humanity and had proven himself time and time again to be unrivaled in power.

* * *

With thunderous footfalls Godzilla drew closer and closer to Slattern. The Category V stood amidst the devastated docks, watching Godzilla intently. A roar signaled Godzilla's arrival on land, finally on the same level, Godzilla came to a stop just in front of Slattern, as the two creatures observed one another.

Now that they were side by side, the difference in size and bulk was apparent to the Tokyo Shatterdome crew. Even with Slattern being permanently hunched over, her head was still a good twenty meters above Godzilla's own. Not to mention how wide Slattern was in comparison to the dinosaur, it was unnerving to see Godzilla so outclassed.

"Do you think he can do it?" Tendo Choi asked from all the way back in Hong Kong.

"Size is not what decides a battle" Ishiro Serizawa suddenly replied "Even against this intimidating foe, Gojira shows no sign of fear or hesitation".

Indeed, Godzilla stood tall, continuing his stare down with Slattern undaunted by the enemy Kaiju's immense stature.

Slattern suddenly roared wildly and swung out with an arm, having apparently grown impatient. Godzilla ducked down, only managing to avoid the attack as Slattern's claw narrowly missed his neck. Without giving Slattern a chance to recover, Godzilla suddenly shunted forwards, throwing all his weight into a tackle. The Category V took the attack, stumbling backwards as Godzilla slowly pushed it out of the docks, and into the city itself.

Buildings crumbled underfoot as the pair grappled furiously. Slattern struck again, this time hitting her target, forcing Godzilla off her. The regal monster shook it's head dazedly, stunned by the sheer force of Slattern's attack.

Before Godzilla could recover though, Slattern went back on the offensive, twisting around and lashing with her three powerful tails. Godzilla took the full force of the blow and let out a low growl, falling to the floor with a heavy thud.

Pressing the attack, Slattern bore down upon the prone Godzilla, aiming to hit him with an overhead smash. A flash of blue suddenly erupted from Godzilla's mouth, catching Slattern in the chest, and causing the monstrous being to shriek in pain.

As Slattern beat at it's chest, trying to remove the burning sensation, Godzilla pulled himself back up and once more tackled the larger Kaiju. Surprised by the sudden assault, Slattern was knocked backwards and stumbled, falling to the floor in the process. Rolling back to it's feet, Slattern snarled ferociously at Godzilla, before charging once more at the king.

* * *

"First batch of evacuees are coming in now sir!" a technician suddenly called, snapping Herc and Ishiro back to their tasks at hand.

"Good, move them into one of the hangars for now, try to free up as much space as you-" Herc was interrupted by a sudden surge in power, which caused the lights to flicker, and almost shut down the computer systems.

"What the hell was that?!" Herc roared.

"We're having trouble with the reactor sir, we're looking into it but we're severely understaffed" the technician admitted.

"We need that reactor running at all times, if we lose power now, we won't be able to coordinate the evacuation" the acting Marshall reminded everyone before turning back to the main monitor.

"They're moving closer and closer into the city centre sir" Ishiro pointed out.

"Tell the troops to focus on the centre first then. Try and evacuate as many civilians in that area as they can" Herc ordered. It was strange for him to be in the position of giving orders rather than taking them, but he was taking it in his stride.

At that moment, the door to the command centre opened, and another technician walked in and saluted, a tall middle-aged Caucasian male shuffling along behind him "Marshall" he said politely, before motioning for his companion to speak.

The newcomer coughed nervously "I'm...My name is Joseph Brody, I uh, I'm a Nuclear Physicist, I used to work at the Janjira plant till it closed a few years ago" he breathed out, clearly affected by the events of the day "I noticed you're having power fluctuations, I was wondering if I could be any help?"

Herc scrutinized him carefully "Very well Mr. Brody, the terminal beside Dr. Serizawa should provide you with all the data you'll need".

"Really? You'll trust me just like that?" Joe said, somewhat astonished that he hadn't been rejected.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but these are desperate times" Herc said, pointing at the main monitor, whereupon Godzilla and Slattern were grappling.

"Right...Of course" Joe said, momentarily transfixed by the fight, but snapping out of it quickly and shuffling over to the machine beside Serizawa.

There was a moment of awkward silence between the two men, till finally Brody spoke "So...Umm...What are you doing?" he asked.

"Monitoring the battle mostly" Serizawa admitted, truth be told there wasn't much left for him to do but sit and hope for the best "Not much need for a Kaiju expert in a fight".

That awkward silence returned as Brody typed away on the keyboard "You know, back before the plant shut down, a few of my colleagues used to tell these wild stories about how Godzilla was some kind of giant android created by the PPDC to scare people into supporting the Coastal Wall. I can't understand these conspiracy nuts myself, always obsessively searching for a truth which most likely doesn't exist".

Serizawa smirked lightly, Brody was trying to lighten the mood, the doctor could tell just by looking at him that the physicist was barely holding it together right now. "A few years ago, people would have considered me a foolish man chasing a fantasy when I proposed the idea that a creature like that could exist" he said, pointing towards Godzilla on the monitor.

"Sorry" Brody apologised "I didn't mean anything by it"

"It was a joke Mr. Brody" Serizawa confirmed with a small smile.

"So...You think he can win? Godzilla I mean" the physicist suddenly asked.

"I'm sure of it" came the doctor's reply.

* * *

Slattern slammed into the side of a large tower with a tremendous crash. The building began to buckle from the impact, but managed to stay standing, albeit with cracks forming in it's structure, and debris falling to the ground.

The Category V Kaiju recovered and prepared to leap at Godzilla again, but at that moment, a massive tail swung down and smashed into Slattern. The force of the blow carried the Kaiju through the building, which disintegrated underneath, kicking up a cloud of dust in the process.

There was a second of silence as Godzilla watched the destroyed remnants of the building intently. Quick as a flash, Slattern stormed out of the cloud and tackled Godzilla roughly, before opening it's mouth wide, and biting down on Godzilla's left shoulder.

Blood spurted out from the would, trickling down the dinosaur's arm, as Godzilla let out a high pitched cry of pain. With wild thrashes, Godzilla tried to throw the larger creature off, but Slattern clung on, continuing to bite down. Godzilla's free arm suddenly came up and reached for the category V's head. Claws raked across Slattern's face, carving into it's right pair of eyes, an act which caused Slattern to let go of Godzilla and shriek in pain.

Crimson blood continued to seep from Godzilla's shoulder as the nuclear powered monster slowly moved his arm around, as if he was testing how damaged his limb was. Slattern's screams and roars brought Godzilla's attention back to the fight, as the right side of the Kaiju's face oozed blood from the now defunct sockets.

With it's remaining eyes, Slattern fixed a deadly gaze upon it's enemies. It's face contorted slightly, as if it was trying to grimace, but lacked the appropriate muscles to change it's expression. Roaring wildly, Slattern once more charged and tackled Godzilla, driving the two titans further and further into the centre of Tokyo in the process as they grappled, clawed and bit one another.

* * *

Serizawa watched the screen intently, his frustration increasing more and more. He hadn't expected the fight to be easy, but the battle was getting intense, and the wound on Godzilla's shoulder had noticeably slowed it down.

On the screen, he watched as Slattern swung at Godzilla, knocking the nuclear warrior into the side of a building. He felt so powerless right now, admittedly under most circumstances there wasn't much he could do during a battle, but still.

Finally, Serizawa stood up as he made a resolution in his mind "I'm going to join the Evacuation teams" he suddenly declared.

"You're what?!" Herc snapped.

"This is my homeland...These creatures are my life, I can no longer just sit here and watch, I need to do something useful Marshall Hansen" Serizawa replied.

"We need you here! You're a scientist, not a soldier" Herc shot back.

"Let him go Marshall" Daisuke Serizawa suddenly said, causing both Herc and Ishiro to turn to face him "I'm not sure of his reasons, but Ishiro feels his place is in the battlefield, who are we to deny him that?" he said gruffly.

"But councilman-" Herc began to say, but Daisuke silenced him with a look from his solitary eye.

"Father..." Ishiro muttered, rendered almost speechless "I-"

"Go Ishiro" his father commanded "Save the city and watch your monster fight, just make sure you come back alive, we don't need any more lives wasted this day".

Without a word, the younger Serizawa nodded and made his way out of the command centre and down the long, cold, corridors towards the heli-pad. For the first time in over a decade, he wasn't apprehensive about climbing into a helicopter.

* * *

Godzilla stumbled back, the last blow from Slattern leaving him momentarily dazed. A moment was all the Category V needed though, as another strike from those serpentine tails proved as once again Godzilla was forced down.

Not giving it's foe a chance to recover, Slattern bore down and pounded on Godzilla's body. The ground shook with each titanic strike and Godzilla let out a high pitched cry as his body was brutally beaten again and again.

Once more Godzilla fired a short blast of his atomic breath in the general direction of Slattern. This time the Kaiju had the sense to dodge the blast, but in doing so, Godzilla had time to pull himself back up and once more go on the offensive.

Slamming into Slattern with all of his weight and power Godzilla caught Slattern off guard. The Kaiju could do nothing as Godzilla suddenly reached up and grabbed it's head, hitting Slattern's empty eye socket in the process, and dragged the strange beast down.

The position Slattern had been forced into made it hard to fight back. Godzilla was using his superior weight to hold Slattern down, keeping it from pushing Godzilla off as the king began to claw and strike at the Kaiju's exposed neck. Deep gouges in Slattern's flesh manifested, as the Kaiju let out a pain filled howl. With mad thrashes, Slattern tried to break free of Godzilla's hold, eventually doing so by clawing at the smaller monsters legs.

Godzilla roared and stumbled back as Slattern reared up and grabbed it's foe by the shoulders. The Category V struggled to hold Godzilla in place, who was using his own titanic strength to try and throw Slattern off. Suddenly though, Slattern thrust it's torso forward, intent on skewering Godzilla with the bony protrusion on it's chest. At the last moment, Godzilla shifted, and the dagger-like plate pierced his abdomen.

Horrific cries filled the air as Godzilla thrashed wildly. Blood poured like a river down his scaled body while Slattern tried to drive further into the smaller beast. A blast of atomic breath clipped the side of Slattern's face, and the Kaiju retreated, pawing at the burnt flesh and hissing loudly.

Stumbling, Godzilla struggled to maintain his balance, leaning on a nearby building for support as Slattern quickly recovered from it's irradiated wound. Leaping forward, Slattern tried to catch the clearly wounded king off guard. With all the speed he could muster, Godzilla stepped to the side, causing Slattern to crash into the building he'd been resting on. Slattern roared and tried to pull itself free from the debris, but a quick strike from Godzilla's tail knocked it back down again.

As Slattern hit the ground, Godzilla clutched the large wound on his abdomen painfully for a moment, before moving back into the fray.

* * *

The chopper banked to the left as it soared through the air. The devastation below seemed so far away from Serizawa, and yet so close. Dilapidated buildings enshrouded by a thick black smoke, as fires raged and towers crumbled. Spatters of crimson and azure blood lined the streets below. Tokyo hadn't so much become a war zone, as it had become the battlefield for the gods themselves.

"They're moving into the centre of the city now" the pilot called out "We've got civvies gathering around an LZ a few clicks from Tokyo Tower, let's make this quick boys".

Serizawa looked through the window intently, watching the battle play out in the distance. Much to his dismay Godzilla had slowed down considerably. His wounds seemed to be getting the better of him as the much larger Kaiju swiped at him continuously.

Not to say that the king of monsters wasn't still fighting, it was almost inspiring to see how determined and driven this creature was to keep going.

"Think lizard boy's got a chance?" one of the soldiers asked out of the blue.

"Didn't you see the way that thing tore through the defensive blockade?!" another soldier shot back, clearly the situation was getting to him.

"Why the hell are we rooting for one of those damn Kaiju anyway? They should have just nuked 'em both to kingdom come" a third chimed in.

"Alright ladies, enough gossiping" the Commanding Officer snarled "We're coming up on the LZ, be ready".

And with that, the helicopter began it's awkward, jarring descent.

* * *

Godzilla swung at Slattern with a slow, powerful strike from his right arm. The Category V however avoided it with ease, it's superior speed allowing it to dodge and dance around the slower Godzilla. A loud crashing noise signaled Slattern's counter attack, once again it's tails slammed into Godzilla at breakneck speed, aiming specifically his still gravely wounded abdomen.

With a familiar painful shriek, Godzilla toppled backwards, crashing into the iconic Tokyo Tower, which buckled under the weight of the monster. Steel snapped and bent underneath the colossal bulk of Godzilla and the ground shook as he hit the floor.

The tyrannical form of Slattern stormed forth, moving on the downed monster and preparing to smash Godzilla with it's powerful arms. Pulling himself up and simultaneously darting forward, Godzilla slammed into Slattern's stomach with as much force as he could gather, surprising the larger Kaiju and knocking it backwards.

Slattern recovered quickly however, and roughly grabbed Godzilla again, digging it's claws into the already wounded shoulder. The Category V roared insanely and once more tried to drive that vicious chest protrusion into Godzilla, this time aiming to stab the king in the throat.

Godzilla hunkered down, his feet digging into the concrete streets below as his muscles tightened and his frame went rigid. Using his claws, Godzilla gripped the dagger-like weapon at the base, his titanic strength holding Slattern back.

Suddenly Godzilla struck, swinging a claw down to hit the top of the protrusion. The bone remained as it was and Slattern pushed forward, trying to overpower Godzilla and stab him. The king didn't seem fazed by his apparent failure, instead he opted to strike again and again and again.

Finally there came a sickening crunch and Slattern shrieked wildly. Spouts of toxic blue blood suddenly flew this way and that as the flesh around Slattern's protrusion began to rip and tear while the bone itself came loose. Godzilla made his move, his claws dug into the already damaged skin of Slattern's chest and began to pull.

The Category V let out a feral scream. It tried with all it's might to break away from Godzilla, but it was all for naught. With a disturbing sound that would haunt the ears of those who heard it, the protrusion was ripped from Slattern's chest, alongside a sizable chunk of flesh.

Slattern stumbled backwards, blood seeping from the wound like a waterfall and splattering across the ground below. With an offhand gesture, Godzilla threw away the now useless bone and let out a roar that almost sounded like a taunt directed at Slattern.

Slattern's remaining eyes fell upon the king, his charcoal scales dyed red and blue from the battle. With a manic cry Slattern charged forth and tackled Godzilla, sending the two monstrous entities into another group of buildings.

* * *

Serizawa put an arm over a family of three and directed them towards one of the transports. Part of the reason he'd been allowed on this mission was because of his nationality. Not so much because the evacuation forces sympathized with his desire to help his people and his home city, just that he could be a more calming presence to the citizens of Tokyo than a group of heavily armed foreigners.

It also helped that he was an expert on Kaiju Blue poisoning, which considering the brutality of the battle thus far, was a very definite worry.

Remembering the fight, Serizawa glanced up. Of course he could see nothing but the buildings around him and the smoke filled air above, but he could hear the battle just fine. Rage filled roars and the tearing of flesh filled his ears, causing him to shudder.

It was a terrifying contrast. Just from the sounds of the fight he felt sick, and he could only imagine seeing the two claw and bite and eviscerate one another would only make him feel worse. Yet a part of his mind desperately wanted to see what was happening, if Godzilla was winning or not.

"Dr. Serizawa! We got a Code Eleven, Three, Fifty Four!" a voice suddenly barked over the sound of the helicopters and the panicked screams of evacuees. Whirling around, Serizawa saw a pair of soldiers carrying a thrashing figure on a stretcher.

Grabbing a bag filled with various instruments and medicines, the aged doctor dashed over and set to work. "Hold him down" Serizawa ordered as he looked at the patient. A young man, probably in his mid-twenties, and covered in Kaiju Blue. The toxic substance was already taking effect, eating away at him, they'd have to act fast.

Snapping on gloves, Serizawa pulled out a syringe filled with anesthetic "Keep him still" he said, as the soldiers easily held the struggling youth in place. The injection was quick and painless, in comparison to what the poor soul was feeling now. In an instant his body relaxed and his erratic movements ceased and Serizawa began to long, arduous process of cleaning and disinfecting.

* * *

Herc glared at the main monitor "C'mon you big ugly lizard!" he roared suddenly "Kick his arse!". The fight was nerve racking to watch, yeah Godzilla had so far put up a better fight than anything else they'd thrown at Slattern thus far, but every time the Category V Kaiju knocked down the smaller beast, his heart sank.

Granted, Godzilla always got back up and continued the fight with earnest, and while Slattern was bleeding profusely, it seemed as if the larger creature had the upper hand.

"You have to wonder if he keeps fighting because he honestly thinks he'll win, or if he's too stupid to consider retreat" Daisuke Serizawa pointed out.

"I'd like to think the former" Herc replied humourlessly as he watched Slattern pound on Godzilla through the monitor.

"Umm...Marshall...I'm getting strange readings" Tendo suddenly said through the speakers.

"What kind of readings?" Herc asked suspiciously.

"I don't know...It's like that Slattern thing is producing some kind of electrical field, and it's growing larger!"

* * *

Serizawa wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed. He'd cleaned and vaccinated the young man as best as he could, his life was no longer in danger, but he'd need to get proper medical treatment to stop the risk of infection.

"Load him up" Serizawa told the two soldiers as he put the leftover equipment back into his kit and stood up. Turning around, Serizawa fought his way against the crowds that were heading for the helicopters. There was a large intersection just up the road where a temporary medical bay had been established which probably needed him.

Finally breaking through the crowd, Serizawa was surprised to find the intersection much, much calmer somehow. Quickly, he noticed that everyone was too busy staring down the road at something in the distance. Turning himself, Serizawa instantly understood what had captured everyone's attention.

Godzilla roared and swung at Slattern, who back stepped away from the strike. Using his forward momentum, Godzilla lashed out with his other arm, and once more Slattern backed away. Swinging his tail in a wide arc, Godzilla tried for a third time to hit Slattern, who jumped backwards to avoid the attack.

Serizawa was confused as to why Slattern was going so far out of it's way to avoid Godzilla. Before the Category V had been content to take a strike from it's foe if it meant it could get in close and attack. There was something amiss here and Serizawa couldn't figure out what it was.

Turning back to face Slattern, Godzilla howled, as if he was aggravated by Slattern's sudden cowardice. The response came in the form of a series of loud crackles, as Slattern's tails waved wildly behind it.

Arcs of what seemed like electricity danced around Slattern's body randomly, as the creatures permanent crazed grin seemed to somehow get larger. Stomping down and standing on four legs, Slattern suddenly opened it's gaping maw as wide as it possibly could. The lightning darting across it's body increased in speed, as the crackling sound became even louder.

Finally, with a tremendous explosion, an electrical blast erupted from Slattern's mouth, and slammed into Godzilla's chest. Pain filled shrieks and cries echoed throughout the city as Godzilla was blown off his feet and launched through the air.

With an earth-shaking thud, Godzilla crashed through several buildings, and collapsed to the ground, landing not too far down the street from the makeshift medical centre, and Serizawa.

* * *

"No..." Herc breathed as he watched the almost motionless form of Godzilla on the monitor.

A new voice suddenly came over the radio "It...It must be an offensive weapon, based upon the same concept behind Leatherback's EMP attack" the voice of Dr. Newton Geiszler croaked out.

"Perhaps the creator's of the Kaiju tried to emulate Godzilla's own attack" Herman Gottlieb pointed out solemnly.

Herc however barely heard the two. He just couldn't believe that after all of the death and destruction of these past two days, this was how it ended.

"I suppose this means the council will have no other choice" Daisuke said bitterly.

Even the ever chatty Steve Martin was at a loss for words as they all watched Godzilla lie in the street.

* * *

Serizawa wasn't sure when exactly he'd moved, but suddenly he found himself much closer to Godzilla then he had been previously, albeit still a very safe distance away. Tears welled up in his eyes as he watched the great beast slowly stir on the ground.

Godzilla's eyelids opened slowly, and bright yellow iris' stood in contrast to his black scales. The king looked around, without moving his head, his eyes eventually coming to a halt.

For the briefest moment, Serizawa thought Godzilla was looking at him. The harsh truth was that Godzilla most likely wasn't aware of him at all, much like how a lion would pay no mind to the ants beneath his feet.

Suddenly, Godzilla began to move. Concrete cracked and debris fell all around the dinosaur as he slowly began to lift himself up. Judging from the lack of speed, Godzilla had been badly wounded by the attack, his wounds from the battle still bleeding as the king stood up once again.

In the distance, Slattern let out a growl that sounded almost annoyed. The crackling sound returned once more, as arcs of electricity once more bounced around Slattern's body.

An eerie blue light flooded the street as the spines on the tip of Godzilla's tail began to light up. The light travelled up Godzilla's back, illuminating the plates on his back with an intense azure. Within seconds, all of Godzilla's spines were shining brightly, their light overriding everything else around, and bathing Serizawa and the other people in that strange blue colour.

The electricity around Slattern became wilder and more manic, as bolts criss-crossed this way and that as Slattern stood on all four legs once again.

There was a strange moment of silence as both creatures simultaneously opened their jaws and faced one another. The moment passed however and both creatures fired their attacks at once.

An explosion rocked the entire city. Dust was kicked up high into the air as the two beams collided viciously. Buildings crumbled and disintegrated from the sheer force of the blast, the shock waves would have blown Serizawa and the humans behind him away, were Godzilla not unknowingly shielding them.

Slattern and Godzilla dug their feet into the ground as the areas around them fell apart. Neither one intended to budge an inch in this contest of strength.

At that moment, Godzilla's spines seemed to flash purple ever so briefly, a trait which his atomic breath mimicked, as suddenly Slattern's attack began to lose ground.

With an almighty explosion that shook Tokyo to it's very foundations, Godzilla's attack overrode Slattern's. The electrical blast began to recede, as the shining blue beam advanced towards Slattern at an incredible rate.

The Category V Kaiju could do nothing as the atomic breath came closer and closer. Till finally the attack struck home. Slattern was blasted off it's feet and launched through the air, smashing through at least three buildings, before crashing through one of the last remaining skyscrapers in the city.

Slattern lay amongst the rubble. Debris and dust covering the Kaiju like a blanket as the monster slowly stirred. In that instant, a clawed foot slammed into the side of Slattern's torso, forcing the creature to roll. The Kaiju roared and tried to pull itself up, but Godzilla countered by slamming his arm down on the downed creatures face. Godzilla's free arm roughly gripped Slattern's head, claws digging into the scalp, as the king smashed Slattern in the face again and again.

Rearing back, Godzilla struck Slattern with as much force as he could muster. The resultant strike shaking the area, and smashing what few windows remained intact. Slattern weakly swung at Godzilla, but the king of monsters caught the attack with ease. Taking advantage of his foe's position, Godzilla suddenly darted his head down and bit down on Slattern's shoulder.

Slattern let out a terrible cry as Godzilla ripped and tore through flesh and muscle, quickly reaching the bone. Godzilla pulled back briefly seemingly letting up on his assault of Slattern. A heavy foot suddenly slammed down onto the wounded appendage, causing Slattern to shriek again, as Godzilla gripped the almost defunct arm, and began to pull.

With a sickening crunch, the limb came free, the bone and flesh of Slattern's shoulder tearing apart as Godzilla threw the useless arm away.

Slattern howled, and used it's remaining limbs to try and drag itself across the ground, but Godzilla wasn't finished yet. Bending down, Godzilla grabbed Slattern's primary tail and began to pull. The king's strength was far greater than Slattern's and soon the Category V Kaiju was being dragged backwards.

Hunkering down, Godzilla twisted his torso suddenly, a fact which pulled Slattern off the ground and carried it backwards. Letting go of the Kaiju's tail, Godzilla watched Slattern's back slam into the side of a building.

The dreaded monster went limp and quiet as Godzilla watched it intently. Throughout the world there was silence, as everyone waited to see what happened next. Slowly, Godzilla stomped towards the lifeless form of Slattern, which still remained slumped against the remains of a tower. Godzilla came to a halt, mere meters away from Slattern's corpse. The silence continued as Godzilla stared at his fallen foe.

With a sudden roar, Slattern sprang to life and leapt forwards towards Godzilla, solitary arm raised and ready to strike.

A flash of blue was Godzilla's response, as his atomic breath fired out and slammed into Slattern's roaring face. The larger beast was blown back and once more knocked into the building. The Category V Kaiju struggled against the nigh unstoppable assault, it's flesh burning away from the force of the blast.

Finally, Slattern's resistance gave out, and the creature fell backwards, crashing through the building, which crumbled over it. Godzilla ceased his attack and observed Slattern's remains. The once mighty Kaiju had been reduced to a bloody, devastated mess, with it's missing arm, gaping torso wounds, and now it's incinerated head.

Content that Slattern was truly dead, Godzilla turned away from the corpse, looked to the heavens and produced a roar mightier than any he had used before.

* * *

Cheers erupted all around Serizawa, who himself was silent. At a loss for words, all he could do was clap and look up at the distant form of Godzilla happily.

"Thank you Gojira" he whispered, although his voice was drowned out by the celebratory cries of the people of Tokyo.

* * *

There was laughter and cheering and a few sobs of joy in the command centre. Herc himself was grinning like an idiot as he watched the towering silhouette of Godzilla move through the city streets "He did it!" he exclaimed "The damn lizard did it!"

Daisuke Serizawa smiled lightly "Gojira is heading towards the Bay" he pointed out "I suppose this means I was right to trust Ishiro" he said mostly to himself.

"Sir, the council is on line one!" a technician said quickly.

"Tell them to piss off. I'll listen to their useless prattle tomorrow" Herc yelled above the cheering crowds.

Herc was vaguely aware his message hadn't been relayed verbatim, but he didn't care, the war was finally over, and the world could return to normal.

* * *

"Admiral, our remaining fighters have a lock on Godzilla, should I order them to engage?" a deck hand asked.

"Negative, inform them they are to return and land immediately, do not engage Godzilla" Stenz responded quickly.

"But sir, the council-" came the reply before it was cut off.

"I will deal with the council, I've given you orders, I expect them to be carried out.

The general turned to face Stenz "They won't be happy about this you know" he pointed out.

"We'd all be dead were it not for that creature, and I'd rather not spend the rest of my life owing a debt to a giant, irradiated dinosaur" Stenz countered, as he watched Godzilla enter the docks.

* * *

Coming to a halt at the edge of the water He turned around to gaze at the battlefield. He'd defended His territory, His kingdom, from the invaders once again. Their putrid smell no longer offended His nostrils and for the first time in a great many years there seemed to be no more battles to fight. He had once again proven his dominance, defeated all challengers and foes. Now it was time to rest and recuperate.

He took the first step into the water and turned away from the destroyed, concrete jungle. With a short hop, His torso entered the sea, the warm water easing His aches and pains as He began to wade through the bay, towards open water.

Finally He dived beneath the water and slowly descended, till He was fully submerged and gone from sight.


	12. Epilogue: New Beginnings

This was the thing Herc hated most about being the Marshall, conference calls with the council. Thankfully this could very well be the last time he'd ever have to suffer through their ignorance and incompetence.

"I must say Mr. Hansen, your first operation as Marshall was certainly...Unique" L. Taylor spat, not even trying to hide the disdain he felt.

"I would call it a rousing success" Daisuke Serizawa suddenly interjected, a slightly smug smirk on his face.

"Hardly" L. Cole shot back "An entire fleet was wiped, Tokyo is lying in shambles, every single Jaeger we has been destroyed and worst of all one of those creatures is still alive!".

"With all due respect councilman" Herc began, meaning no respect at all "My experts theorise that Godzilla will not attack humanity without provocation" he pointed out.

"Oh yes, you're experts" Cole replied, emphasising the word experts with a great deal of irony filled spite "An old fool, a stuttering wreck and a narcissistic egotist"

"Yes, they do have their quirks don't they?" Herc half laughed.

"Be serious about this Marshall!" Taylor snapped.

"I am being serious sir, I've taken into account my own experiences and the thoughts and opinions of my science team, and I've concluded that Godzilla is not a threat at this moment in time" Herc said exasperatedly.

"But that doesn't mean he couldn't become one in the near future" Cole replied with an icy tone "I don't understand why you are putting so much stock in the goodwill of a monster, these things have been destroying our world for a decade".

Herc smiled again "Don't you listen to the radio councilman? He's not just any monster"

Cole glared daggers through the monitor at the Marshall and looked ready to blow, but Daisuke Serizawa suddenly spoke up "Regardless, I think I speak for everyone when I say thank you".

The council members all turned to look at Serizawa's monitor as the old man continued to speak "The men and women of the PPDC have worked tirelessly for over a decade in the defence of our planet, and for that we are eternally grateful".

There was a murmur of approval from the rest of the assembled politicians, nobody wanted to be caught out disrespecting those who had laid down their lives in the war.

"It was a pleasure to serve in the PPDC" Herc said, saluting.

"Was?" Serizawa said curiously.

"I assumed the PPDC would be dissolved with the world no longer under the threat of the Kaiju" Herc pointed out.

"We cannot be certain there is no longer a threat" Cole suddenly said, having calmed down slightly "If one Breach was opened, who's to say another won't appear somewhere down the line?".

"Not to mention the constant worry that your precious Godzilla will one day turn against us and attack" Taylor agreed "No Marshall, the PPDC will remain active, in fact the plans for a new batch of Jaegers have already been approved".

Herc was silent for a moment "Very well" he sighed "And what of me?" he questioned.

"You've proven yourself a capable leader with good judgement, we'd like you to stay on as Marshall for now" Serizawa said and from the looks on the faces of Taylor and Cole, he'd strong armed them into keeping him around.

"I see...In that case, I look forward to working with you again councilman Serizawa" Herc said, before ultimately ending the transmission.

Herc wasn't sure why he'd accepted the job so readily. Hadn't he been fighting so hard for all these years so he could return to a normal life? What possessed him to remain in this thankless position working directly under a group of people he openly hated?

A cough brought Herc back to reality, and he pushed his thoughts away for now, he had more important things to worry about.

Chuck Hansen stepped up to face his father "So you're the Marshall for real now?" he asked rhetorically.

"What can I say? I'm an old man, I don't belong on the front lines any more" he joked.

"Finally acting your age huh? That's a first" Chuck laughed.

"So how about you? What're your plans now that the war is over?" Herc asked.

"I think I'm going to apply to be an instructor at the Jaeger Academy, train the next generation. won't be easy, but I think I can make them ALMOST as good as me...helluva lot better than Raleigh, anyway" The younger Hansen laughed.

Herc smiled "What will you do if one of the rookies shows you up?".

"As if that'll happen" Chuck shot back "I'm the best pilot the PPDC has ever produced".

Herc laughed and shook his head "Yes, yes, fine, good luck Instructor Hansen" he chided, before grabbing his coat and heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Chuck yelled at his father.

"To see your uncle" he said simply, before closing the door and leaving the conference room.

* * *

"You didn't have to come all this way I'm fine, really!" Raleigh said, before biting into an apple.

Mako Mori sat uncomfortably beside her partner, his arm still in a cast, supported by a sling tied around his neck. After she'd been pulled from Tokyo Bay, and once the situation had calmed down, she'd taken the first chopper to Raleigh's location "I'm sorry" she apologised.

"Nah, it's fine, I like having company" he said with a short laugh. The grin fell from his face though as he looked at Mako "Are you doing okay?" he asked concernedly.

"Not really, but I'm keeping it together...For the Marshall's sake" she said solemnly.

"I'm sorry Mako...If I hadn't been hurt, I could have-" Raleigh began.

"There's no point dwelling on what could have been" she interrupted "What happened has happened and nothing can change that. All we can do is carry on going forward".

"I guess...Still I'm here for you if you need me" Raleigh said, he had a pretty good idea of what she was going for.

Mako smiled slightly "Thank you...But you need to concentrate on getting better" she said, offering a bag to her partner. "Whenever I was sick or wounded, the Marshall would bring me a bag of grapes, he said it was a tradition where he came from"

"Well then" Raleigh said, grabbing a handful of grapes and putting them in his mouth "If the Marshall says these will help me get better, guess I'd better get to eating" he joked. Mako laughed softly at Raleigh's antics.

* * *

"Monarch?" Newt asked "Does that stand for something, or is it meant to just sound cool?"

"The latter I'm afraid" Serizawa laughed "It's an independent group being created to monitor and research Gojira and any other creatures like him"

"Creatures like him?" Gottlieb asked "You think there could be more?"

"Who's to say?" Serizawa admitted "We know so little about Gojira and his origins, for all we know there could be dozens of monsters on planet Earth just waiting to be woken up like he was.

"Well good luck with that Doc" Newt said, offering a handshake, which Serizawa accepted "Me and Herman are going to stay with the PPDC"

"Yes! We're actually getting commendations from the scientific community for our theories on Kaiju brain patterns" Gottlieb said, shaking Serizawa's hand as well.

"That's great news, the PPDC needs more people like you two...Well it needs people with your sheer gut instincts at least" he joked lightly before turning towards the nearby helicopter and preparing to board.

"You do know that if we ever need any advice, we're going to call you right?" Newt laughed.

"That's fine, as long as you're both aware that if I need a pair of assistants to help me chase monsters, I'm calling you two in" he said before shutting the door on the chopper.

The aged doctor waved through the window, as the helicopter took off, Newt and Herman disappearing from view very quickly. Serizawa leaned back in his seat. Everything had changed, the war was over and the world was at peace.

Yet some things remained the same however given that he was once again, stuck inside a helicopter chasing monsters. It was strange though, five years ago he'd have given anything to no longer jet set around the world hunting Kaiju, and now here he was, willingly doing it again.

He supposed in a roundabout way, he owed a lot to Godzilla. He'd found a new lease on life, made a plethora of new friends and reconciled with his father, all thanks to his research on this mysterious animal. For that reason, he was greatly intrigued as to what the future would hold if he continued to follow Godzilla.

He looked through the window at the great, blue ocean. Somewhere amongst he was out there, resting and recovering from his long battle. There was no telling how long it'd take to find him, nor how long he'd be gone for, but Serizawa was sure that one day, he would see Godzilla again.

Leaning back even further into the chair, Serizawa closed his eyes, and for the first time in a long while, he drifted into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

Far underground, amidst a shelter of rock and stone, something stirred in the darkness. A large, solid shape twitched and shuffled, as loud snapping sounds reverberated throughout the cave. Cracks formed on the surface of the object as low, muffled growls emanated from within.

All around, subterranean creatures scurried in every conceivable direction away from the shifting, pulsing mass. The ground shook, and lumps of dirt and rock came loose and fell to the ground. The growls and scratching grew louder and louder. The noise filling the dead, stagnant air.

Finally the object gave way and something burst out from within, roaring and screeching wildly as the new life took a breath for the first time.

**TO BE CONTINUED?**

* * *

_A/N: And thus the tale comes to an end...Sorta. In my profile, there's a short segment that will discuss some of the finer points of Ascension and it's development. Thank you very much for reading my silly little fic, I hope you enjoyed it._


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